Bible Black: A Book For All and None
by Henry
Summary: Ten years after La Noche de Walpurgis, the same boy is again drawn into the battle between science and magic, with a plethora of new enemies and a series of twists, and a sinister scheme to harness power and change the course of history. Second in series.
1. The Devil Wears Glasses

**Bible Black**

_A Book for All and None_

By Henry

Author's Note: Yes, this IS a sequel to 'The First Signs.' I recommend reading that particular story first, as it retold the 'La Noche De Walpurgis' storyline. This sequel is appropriately set ten years in the future, and the events run parallel to the 'La Lanza de Longinus', with several characters from the Shin timeline, but tying in much less directly than its predecessor.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bible Black, Neon Genesis Evangelion, or the respective characters thereof. I do lay claim to Asante Hirazuki and Zarathustra.

And so, without further ado...

TOKKEN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT  
CONSCRIPTED FIELD OFFICER DOCUMENT: CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

HIRAZUKI ASANTE  
Rank: Lieutenant  
Department: Shinjuku Main Branch  
Missions Completed: 17 S-Rank Assignments, 30 A-Rank Assignments, 74 B-Rank Assignments, 42 C-Rank Assignments, 22 D-Rank Assignments  
Official Conscript Number: 002  
Assignment Status: S-Rank; Moscow, Russia

**Chapter One: The Devil Wears Glasses **

Lefortovo Prison, Moscow, Russia

It had been a simple assignment. Operating with officials from the Russian government, he had to be temporarily detained by the KGB and placed in the medium-security facility so he could silently dispose of the intended target, a man the Russian government had captured attempting to detonate a large portion of the Antarctic, which the Russians had repeatedly claimed was their territory.

Though 'officially' the Japanese and Russian governments were in dispute about who deserved to take possession of the trophy prisoner -himself a Japanese national- the prime minister of Japan and president of Russia had made a secret deal to have him killed and make it look like an accident... something ideal, like a prison riot.

A single Tokken agent had been rather unceremoniously dropped just past the Russia-Mongolia border, and subsequently detained by the KGB as both an illegal immigrant and potential saboteur. The man's rather unpleasant demeanor had also contributed to his sentence, and he had been repeatedly struck about the face and chest during the various interrogations before his incarceration.

All -in short- had gone according to plan.

Hirazuki Asante was not imprisoned at all, though he had been trimmed a lot of his mangy dark hair and been forced into a simple white-black prison uniform, he could easily have escaped at any time. The prison guards had dismissed the markings on his hand as some weird Japanese cult thing, so they hadn't restrained his right hand.

That would prove their undoing, once the time was right. At his very first lunch feeding, on the second day of his incarceration, Asante spotted his target, involved in a fight against two Russian inmates, who severely beat the man down, much to the amusement of guards and prisoners alike.

Asante stepped forward, to the man's side, and speaking in their native language asked: "Rokubungi-san? What are you doing here?"

The man looked up through a pair of partially-broken orange tinted sunglasses, virtually identical to the pair Ritsuko used to wear. "Who are you?"

"Hirazuki Asante," he introduced, helping Rokubungi up to his feet. "It's not exactly typical to find another Japanese man in a Russian prison."

Rokubungi dusted himself off and nodded. "I am used to being hated, Hirazuki. I am not used to being helped without promise of reward."

"Then reward me," Asante requested. "Save my backside some time and we'll call it even."

Rokubungi seemed indifferent to this and resumed eating. He said nothing further to Asante, much to the already irritated alchemist's chagrin.

Later in the day, he arranged with one of the guards to make a call to his 'embassy,' when in fact he was going to contact one of Tokken's makeshift outposts, this time a plane set up at Domodevodo International Airport, which would eventually be his means of escape.

"This is 002," Asante stated simply. "Dr. Akagi, please."

His reluctant coordinator came on the phone shortly thereafter. "Yes, Asante-kun, I'm here. Have you found Gendo?"

"Ma'am," Asante answered neutrally.

"There's been a change in your orders," Ritsuko told him. "You are now to escort him out of the prison and bring him to this plane."

"This coming from the top?" Asante asked.

"It's coming from me," Ritsuko replied simply. "This is a scrambled communication, Asante-kun. The Russians and Tokken alike will be on the dark for this."

"If I might ask, Doctor, why do you want this man alive?" Asante asked. "I never expected you to do anything without Tokken's consent."

"Bring him to me," Ritsuko stated simply, and thus ended the communication. Asante sighed and returned to his cell as he prepared for the evening's events. Lying on a cot against the wall, Asante placed his right palm against the stone and began analyzing every element in the walls...

Four hours later...

Every cell bar in the prison fell down. Every single one. Though at first somewhat timid and surprised, the inmates eventually got the hint and started leaving their cells en masse, and made short work of the night watchmen. Asante exited into the crowd of prisoners, searching for the one other Japanese man in the facility.

Locating his intended target, Asante found Rokubungi being assaulted by the same two Russian inmates who'd been beating him earlier. Not wanting to deny Ritsuko's orders nor allow anyone the pleasure of killing the annoying man, Asante pressed his hand upon each man in turn, and ripped all the carbon from their bodies, leaving not but disfigured, watery masses in his stead.

He had expected Rokubungi to be surprised, but the bearded man only smiled at him. "And why did you save me, Hirazuki?"

"A mutual friend of ours' is expecting you," Asante answered. "Now come on," Grabbing Rokubungi with his free left arm, Asante led him to one prison wall and promptly shattered it, leading his apprehended target/new ally out from the prison and into the Moscow tunnel system, working his way back to the airport, to turn over this man to Ritsuko.

He had been eerily silent all throughout, a smile plastered upon his face.

Back at Tokken headquarters, Dr. Nagamine Yurika, the woman who had taken over the Zarathustra project from Ritsuko, presented her findings to the Tokken administrators.

"We still have only one successful prototype?" one of them grunted.

"If you can call it a success," another chimed in. "The creature remains as useless as your research, Doctor."

Dr. Nagamine, flustered and breathless, prepared to give an answer but was interrupted by one of her commanders. "It has been ten years, Doctor. How long can it possibly take to identify the genome needed to mass produce it?"

"We will issue a simple ultimatum, Doctor. Present to us superior findings in the next week, or your project will return to Dr. Akagi's care."

Dr. Nagamine seemed willing to argue but didn't, and bowed to the council, exiting in a hurry and returning to her lab, where her single success waited for her.

"They don't realize how special you are," Nagamine stated. "They only think of you as a soldier; they don't understand the advancements you can make."

The creature growled.

Nagamine ran her hand over the creature's pebbly gray flesh. "Yes, I know what you want. I'll keep you satisfied." She turned off all security cameras and began to undress. "I'll give myself to you as often as you need, Zarathustra."

The creature growled in a more satisfied manner and descended towards her, any other thoughts consumed by monstrous, animalistic lust.


	2. Better Investments

**Chapter Two: Better Investments**

"No, don't," she requested, embarrassed. "I don't-"

"Don't what?" Asante asked her. "Don't want to show me these risqué garments of yours'? But they look good on you."

"Hirazuki-san, no, don't-" But she gave in quickly enough as he began to disrobe her, pushing her back onto his apartment bed.

Ritsuko, watching the security camera and viewing Asante engage in his usual post-mission ceremony, thought: _My God, does he ever stop?_

The young woman he was with was Harada Eri, a nurse working at a local general hospital. She lived alone, and had treated Asante one day in lieu of an available physician. He had taken her virginity and ever since she had been his lover, regularly used and abused by him.

Ritsuko didn't condone such behavior, but had been forced to put up with it. Since Yuge had been promoted to Captain, he'd left their squad years earlier, and now Asante had been partnered up with Lieutenant Morita, now in his 40s and much less adept at practical law enforcement (yet he never failed to berate Asante for failing to be promoted). Ritsuko was now 29, her 30th birthday lingering on the horizon. She was unmarried and had no boyfriend or even lover, so she was regularly berated by the administrators for her tendency to bury herself in her work.

Unpleasant as it was to watch Asante take some young woman nearly every night, it was part of her job now. Tokken knew Asante was a loose cannon and intended t keep him pacified, with Ritsuko monitoring his progress and regularly reporting back to them. She didn't much care for Asante's utter disregard for the importance of love and compassion in a relationship, but was nonetheless grateful to him. He'd covertly defied orders to bring her a prize.

Turning her attention away from the security camera, Ritsuko smirked. "Are you awake now, Gendo?" The man with glasses only nodded from behind the glass. "Would you care to explain what you were doing in the Antarctic?"

Gendo smiled. "There was a UN compound set up beneath the ice sheet. I came to recover the research there."

"Liar," Ritsuko snapped. "Why did the Russians accuse you of trying to detonate it?"

"You didn't let me finish, Dr. Akagi," Gendo replied in his suave, direct manner. "You remember the key failure from 2000, don't you?"

"Only in that it convinced my mother to kill herself," Ritsuko snapped.

"That wasn't the reason she killed herself," Gendo replied. "She did that because I didn't return her twisted affection for me."

"Don't flatter yourself," Ritsuko told him, hastily changing the subject. "What were you trying to find down there?"

"In 2000, after the failure of the project and the departure of the research team, I insisted that we resume investments, pooling resources away from the current defense budget spending and towards continued research on replicating our find out there," Gendo explained. "The old men decided the formation of Tokken was a better investment."

"What were you trying to find?" Ritsuko repeated.

"The Lance of Longinus," Gendo answered simply. "Or, more accurately, the second version of it. The spear that could pierce God himself."

The next morning, Asante stepped into the Tokken Shinjuku office, where he was immediately ushered to a meeting with the administrators.

"We don't normally start you on another assignment so soon, but the man in charge has requested your presence," an administrator told him. "Your old commanding officer Captain Yuge asked for one of our official conscripts, and you're the only one in the country at the moment."

"Yuge?" Asante asked with a snort. "What does he want me for?"

"Just backup, if he should need it," another administrator replied. "Today you're supposed to meet his subordinates." Papers shuffled about. "Imari Kurumi and Ichikawa Aki. Both are going to be investigating (name) University later today."

"I went to that school," Asante pointed out. "And Imari-san was one of my classmates."

"That is just good providence," an administrator grunted. "You'll be meeting later with Vice-Chancellor Oshima, once you've had an opportunity to meet your new teammates."

"What about Dr. Akagi and Morita-senpai?" Asante asked.

"Lieutenant Morita has been hospitalized," another administrator answered. "He was in a traffic accident."

Though Asante thought it might've been proper to show concern, he honestly didn't care that his partner had been hurt. "Very well. Where is Imari-san now?"

"She's making a stop by the bank with Ichikawa. She's probably in civilian dress. Would you like some photographic identification-?"

"I'll know her," Asante replied. He turned and exited, much to the old men's displeasure; he continued his rather juvenile tendency to ignore formalities and honorifics.

He found the bank less than half-an-hour later, but was immediately prevented from entry by a group of police officers, and walked over to the nearest one. "Detective, what's going on?"

The detective -Yamanishi Naoko- asked: "Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Hirazuki, Tokken," he replied, hastily pulling out his badge. "I have reason to believe two of our agents are in the facility."

"We're not sure,' Yamanishi answered. He turned to examine something a patrolman gave to him. "If you'd like-" He stopped in midsentence upon seeing Asante having apparently vanished entirely, right in the middle of a group of police officers.

In actuality, Asante had just sank into the ground and propelled himself past the police barricade and inside the building, passing by a single masked gunman guarding the door. Inside, he found bank tellers and clients alike engaging in all sorts of unusual sexual acts, but he kept his attention strictly on locating these two women, and continued further back through the bank, towards a bathroom stall...

...in time to see a tall, long-haire woman snap one of the masked gunmen's necks, grinning lewdly. While Asante had no objection to seeing women kill men, he found it unusual that this woman apparently had a fully functional -by virtue of the fact it was erect- penis.

That, and, based on the structure of her thick brown hair and the facial features, she was also Kurumi Imari.

_Damn,_ Asante thought. _That's hot. Freaky. But hot._

Meanwhile, back at Tokken headquarters, Dr. Nagamine had finally had enough, and spoke to the administrators with a very clear goal in mind.

"A field test?" one asked. "Now?"

"Yes, sir," Nagamine replied. "Under controlled conditions. In a district not currently undergoing our investigation."

"The purpose being...?"

"You asked me to show results," Nagamine answered. "I'd like a chance to do so."

"We're pooling a lot of resources into another situation at the moment," an administrator stated rather gruffly. "We may not have the manpower needed to contain it."

"Zarathustra will obey my commands," Nagamine assured. "I have faith in him."

"Very well. Draw up the scenario and report back to us once you've decided on a time and place, Doctor."


	3. Test Run

**Chapter Three: Test Run**

Opting not to interact with Imari while she was having her fun with a bank teller, Asante instead went to dispatch the remaining robbers, killing them before they could get off a shot or utter a scream, systematically eliminating them one by one. He turned his attention then to the restroom, as Imari composed herself, redressed, and exited down the hallway and towards a vault. Asante turned his attention to the violated -and now unconscious- teller and the young woman lying on the linoleum floor. Upon examining the latter's badge he recognized her as Ichikawa Aki, another Tokken agent and Imari's immediate subordinate.

_Was it because they harmed this girl?_ Asante speculated. _Is that what drove you into your feral act, Imari-san?_

He did not linger and lifted both women onto either shoulder. Though curious as to what Imari was up to, Asante decided discretion was the better part of valor. He ran as he could outside, and gave a simple instruction to the bewildered police: "You may storm when ready, gentlemen."

And storm they did, bringing in some heavy artillery. A pair of medics came over to examine Ichikawa and the teller (as well as cover them where necessary) while Asante searched around for Detective Yamanishi, to explain the circumstances.

Instead he recoiled ever so slightly at the hardened, stoic (and tall) stature of Captain Yuge, glaring down at him through a pair of reflective sunglasses. He'd trimmed his goatee somewhat since the last time the two had met, but that did little to quell his obvious, overbearing animosity.

"Lieutenant," Yuge grunted.

"Captain," Asante replied.

Yuge leaned very close, and slowly stated: "Thank you for saving Ichikawa-kun."

"Um...sure, no problem," Asante answered. "So why'd you want me on this case anyway, Captain?"

"I didn't want _you_ on this case," Yuge corrected, "I just asked for one of our conscripts. You were the only one available."

"Well, things worked out, then!" Asante noted. "We can be partners, Yuge! We'll have-"

"Hold it," Yuge snapped, thrusting his palm in Asante's face. "You are assigned to me to follow my instructions. You will do as I command, and will not act independently as you seem to insist upon."

Asante looked around Yuge's hand with a smirk. "Do you really think there's any chance of me listening to you?"

"Some," Yuge answered. "You know how Tokken treats the freaks who don't obey."

"Oh, I'll obey them," Asante confirmed. "You? Not so much."

Yuge sighed. "You'll have no other choice, Asante. If you step out of line, I'll have them bring out a collar."

Asante's mood plummeted at the prospect, and he promptly agreed to do whatever was needed of him. "Terms accepted, Captain."

"Okay, we're in position now, Doctor," one of the Tokken agents confirmed. "When do I release him?"

"Once I've finished securing the replenishment," Nagamine answered, adding the final strap over Zarathustra's waist, stringing together the various packs. "Zarathustra will rapidly deplete his red blood cell count when at higher activity levels; these devices are essential."

"Is he ready?" the Tokken agent asked.

"Drop him now," Nagamine instructed, stepping away from Zarathustra, after taking a moment to fondly grasp his shoulder. Zarathustra watched with his empty white eyes and then vanished from sight, emptied out the cargo door bottom, into the rushing wind.

Zarathustra landed hard in the pavement below, leaving a crater a foot into the ground. Zarathustra immediately growled, but began moving, scouring the street around him.

"We're adding the bogeys now," the Tokken agent explained to Nagamine, high above. The doctor only nodded, and continued to watch the experiment progress. Zarathustra's targets were simple sentry turrets, firing off rubber bullets to test both his fortitude and agility, as several cameras and Tokken agents were strategically placed on the ground to record the action.

As Zarathustra drew close enough, the rounds began firing. The gray-skinned creature was pummeled by hit after hit, but they did little to deter him. Snarling, Zarathustra dropped to all fours and bounded across the pavement with ease, but instead of attacking the firing turret, he began to steer away from it, away from their test street and back towards the city.

"Reclaim him now!" Nagamine instructed. "Do not let him interact with civilians!"

Tokken agents climbed into every vehicle they had and gave chase. Zarathustra, moving on only his arms and legs, outran them and landed back in inhabited territory, scouring the Shinjuku apartment complexes on the edge of town.

Though in hot pursuit, Tokken could've taken their time and still captured him; they found the humanoid relentlessly violating a green-haired woman in her late twenties, in an apartment registered to Itoh Mika.

Nagamine ignored the confused/furious looks of the agents around her and simply instructed: "Bring them both in. Report our failure back to the administrator."

Some time later, Asante returned to the Shinjuku Main Branch headquarters and headed through the prison block on his way to Ritsuko's lab facility, and, able to sense the changing atoms, noticed that one of the cells was now inhabited by a woman, breathing heavily and sitting in isolation, conscious but barely mobile.

Asante peered inside and -though she no longer wore rabbit ears- he recognized her. "Itoh-san?" he asked quietly to himself. "Why are you here?"

"There were complications with the Zarathustra project," came the curt reply. Recognizing the voice, Asante turned to find Gendo standing in the hallway, Ritsuko a few feet behind him. "It seems Dr. Akagi's 'demon man' cannot resist the allure of women."

Asante narrowed his eyes. "Is there a particular reason you're wandering around the facility? Bear in mind, I was supposed to have killed you."

"Do not think it goes unappreciated," Gendo replied, adjusting his glasses, "but I specifically came out here to find you, and employ your services."

"And you've made some sort of pact with this man, Dr. Akagi?" Asante asked.

Ritsuko nodded. "And with you too, Asante-kun. We need you to cover for us while we make a trip to the south pole."

"Surely you jest," Asante muttered.

"Not at all," Gendo replied. "This should only take a few days. We just need you to hold down Dr. Akagi's laboratory and keep the old men distracted."

"Why should I?" Asante asked. "What do I get?"

Gendo prepared to answer, but Ritsuko interjected: "Me." At both Asante and Gendo's confused glances, Ritsuko said: "You can have me, Asante-kun. As often as you want. All of me, totally and completely."

Asante's lust was provoked. His cruel grin could only be matched by the demon's.

Dr. Nagamine, meanwhile, smiled through the protective, bulletproof glass shielding at her unconscious creation/lover. "They don't understand you, Zarathustra. They don't know what you need."

The sedated creature gave no reply.

"You're special," Nagamine assured him. "You're more than just a 'demon man.' You are much more important than any of them realize."

She heard the shot. The bullet slammed into her back and splattered her blood across the glass. Though in pain, Nagamine managed a weak smile, the blood dribbling down. "I love you, Zarathustra."


	4. The Spear

Chapter Four: The Spear

**"You can have me, Asante-kun. As often as you want. All of me, totally and completely." **

Normally, when Asante had trouble sleeping, it was because he hadn't convinced a woman to give up her body for him, so he could enjoy three or four hours of light slumber. Now, however, he hadn't turned to his latest squeeze; his mind was too filled with anticipation for Ritsuko.

He had desired her for ten years, but after he had destroyed the method of wooing her Kitami gave to him, he assumed nothing would come of it. She didn't seem to like him very much, but he had done her several favors, so it seemed only fair she at last returned his gesture.

He wasn't certain why Ritsuko had finally decided to give herself up to him, but based on Gendo's surprise, he doubted the bespectacled man had anything to do with it. She was undoubtedly plotting something, but his lust for her was enough to convince him not to pry.

Ritsuko was not a particularly vain woman, but she did care about appearances. Word would get out in Tokken they were doing such things, particularly when all his activities were carefully monitored. There would be no punishment, aside from the stern looks of the administrators. Asante would probably have to break off his relationship with Eri, but that didn't really bother him. It'd been three weeks of sex, and he had grown tired of her, and was eager for a new toy, especially in the form of a buxom bleached blonde in a white lab coat.

The sound of his phone was unsurprising. No one ever called him but his workplace, so he had no reservations about answering with a gruff: "Yes?"

"Hirazuki, do you know where Dr. Akagi has gone?"

His alibi had been well prepared and well rehearsed. "She's gone to Antarctica on our behalf; she's smoothing things over with the Russians."

"Yes, we've been monitoring her flight," replied a Tokken coordinator on the other end. "Do you know why she purchased two tickets?"

"I was supposed to attend with her," Asante replied, "but I'm currently assigned to Captain Yuge. Besides, I don't do well with our foreign relations."

"Understood," the coordinator stated. "When she returns, if we are unable to contact her, inform Dr. Akagi that the Zarathustra project has been transferred back to her control. Dr. Nagamine has been removed from office and reassigned."

'Removed and reassigned' was just a polite way of saying 'executed for incompetence.' Asante only grunted in reply and hung up the phone, before returning his attention to staring at his ceiling.

Yuge's subordinate Ichikawa would more than likely be out of the hospital by the next morning, so Asante really did want to sleep a little bit, so he didn't collapse from exhaustion at some inconvenient moment. But alas, the seconds ticked away at a maddeningly slow pace, and the night dragged on...

A few hours later, in the Antarctic, Ritsuko and Gendo both stepped forth along the ice sheet, and after a few minutes, Gendo led her to a shallow pool of water in the cracked surface, and showed her the dull, rusted red husk, almost a hundred feet long and ending in two massive prongs, like a pitchfork.

"The Lance?" Ritsuko asked.

"Version 2, yes," Gendo replied. "This is the key to succeeding in your project, Doctor; use God's own blood to recreate your demon man."

Ritsuko lowered herself into the slick chasm, remaining on whatever surface she could. "It seems ironic, don't you think? Using God's blood to create demons?"

"When angels come into contact with Earth, they are corrupted by the sad wiles of humanity," Gendo explained. "In their pity, they try to console the weak and the incomplete, and when they fail, they lose all hope for return to Paradise. They are damned even more so than the denizens of Hell."

"You're in a talkative mood," Ritsuko observed. "You make it sound as though there's more to this than creating new soldiers for the government."

"Oh, but there is," Gendo replied. "You are welcome to all the divine blood you need. I want the lance for mysef."

"You can have it, if you don't mind dragging it back with you," Ritsuko replied, reaching down to take a sample from the red metal.

"Oh, I won't need the entire device; it's far too unwieldy," Gendo told her, dropping down to her side. "I only need enough of it for your friend with the cursed palm to recreate it for me."

"Yes, good luck with that," Ritsuko replied neutrally, fascinated by the end of the spear's prongs, and the dark red hue, discolored upon the metal.

"Would you care to explain where he gained such power?" Gendo asked.

"From a demon," Ritsuko answered, "or so he claimed."

"A demon?" Gendo repeated.

"A demon he knew only as 'dealmaker,'" Ritsuko replied. "He said the demon was sucked out of his body by Reika Kitami before she was killed."

"I see," Gendo answered, betraying no interest as he chipped away at the lance, breaking off a few fragments and pocketing them before removing larger portions from either side of it, to be placed elsewhere. As Ritsuko collected the remaining blood, Gendo ascended back from the chasm, thinking.

_The dealmaker is in Reika Kitami's grasp. It may only be a fool's hope, but if I remember correctly, that demon can't possess women. If she succeeded in transferring her soul to another female body, as she intended, then it's possible I could locate him. _

He extended a hand to help Ritsuko up from beneath the ice. "Any chance I could look at your ward's file? This is a fascinating story he's concocted."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Considering the help you've been, I don't see why not. But bear in mind," she turned fierce, holding his gaze, "whatever you're planning, you share with me. That was the condition I gave for keeping you alive."

"My only goal is to reconstruct the Lance," Gendo replied, "and then pierce God and the Heavens." He turned his attention to the sky, clouds hanging heavily over the ice continent. "How I'll get there will require you and your ward fulfilling your own desire." He turned back to glance at her. "Are you really intending to give yourself to him?"

"As necessary," Ritsuko replied simply. "It's the only thing he wants from me."

"And what do you want?" Gendo asked.

"Nothing anyone seems able to give," Ritsuko replied flatly, walking out ahead of him, her samples in tow.

Back at the Shinjuku Main Branch, sitting in a holding cell, Mika Itoh awoke, listening to sounds of clanging and hitched breath. Her door was forcibly ripped open as the monstrous Zarathustra stepped in to make good use of her again.

In the back of his simple, feral mind, the monstrosity could recall his purpose... he had a bit of soul to drag out, and a body to forever taint. Mika Itoh's soul had already been weakened; she was already willing to give in, and sacrifice her humanity to gain the relentless, craven pleasure.

Which meant, once Zarathustra had his fun, he'd need to find a new soul to taint.


	5. Special Investigators

**Chapter Five: Special Investigators**

Asante ambled in to the above-ground field office several minutes before the other team members would be arriving. Only Captain Yuge was present, sitting at a table and drinking his coffee, a silver-metal collar before his gloved hand.

Asante immediately retracted, readying his right hand to attack, but Yuge casually waved his own arm. "This is just for show, Asante. Some of the other team members think all our conscripts are required to wear these."

Asante relaxed just a few hairs. "Alright, then," he sat at the table, directly before the collar, staring at the dull silver.

Three others joined them shortly after, surrounding the table. Asante slunk down even further, staring resolutely at the collar before him.

"We'll begin now," Yuge stated. "Ichikawa-kun and Imari-kun will be back in the field by now."

"And who's this man?" one of the agents asked, jerking her thumb at Asante.

"The conscript," Yuge answered. Asante looked up, grinning lewdly at the attractive young woman in her police outfit, and she immediately edged away from him. "Anyway," Yuge continued, "the reason you all were selected for this mission is because you all attended this high school at one point or another, and some of you recall the strange events of ten years prior."

Yuge put up a diagram of the school. The gathered Tokken agents all began taking notes, while Asante leaned backwards to contemplate his fingernails. He wasn't particularly interested in whatever Yuge was saying, at least until he got to the last bit:

"...because at least some number of students are known to be practicing -or at least attempting- witchcraft, we assume the ringleader causing the school's current supernatural activity is this woman, Saeki Kaori."

A picture of her had come up. She had aged incredibly well, and had taken to wearing a white lab coat. Asante salivated openly at the sight.

"She was a direct subordinate to Kitami during the events ten years prior," Yuge continued. "She's been quiet for a while, so we at first assumed she had her fun and moved on, but this recent activity shows genuinely advanced magic, and thus she seems the most logical proprietor."

Yuge then assigned the various agents around him to different parts of the campus. Asante would be waiting outside, set to enter and destroy something at a moment's notice.

Or, those were his orders, at least.

_Tokyo International Airport - Ota, Tokyo_

Ritsuko pulled her bag off the carousel, and upon turning away from the rotating device, was immediately greeted by two Tokken agents, each carrying documents of some kind. She was only mildly surprised; Tokken had grown increasingly suspicious of her as Dr. Nagamine had become increasingly involved with the Zarathustra project, but she took it in stride.

"Yes, gentlemen?" she asked politely.

"Dr. Akagi," the first greeted, "did you succeed in calming the Russians?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes, but I don't think I improved any chances of international cooperation. They will allow us to perform tests in the area in the future, but only with prior consent from their government."

"And did any of them guess our involvement in Rokubungi's assassination?" the second agent asked.

"Of course," Ritsuko replied. "They're not stupid. But I managed to convince them that the two unaccounted for prisoners were both Russian criminals, and they've got no evidence to the contrary."

"Two prisoners?" the first agent repeated, hoping for a Freudian slip.

"According to the Russian guards, yes," Ritsuko replied, showing no surprise or hesitation. "I'll be writing a full report when I return."

"Actually, we'll be skipping formalities this time, Doctor," the second agent told her, handing her a dossier. "Dr. Nagamine has been reassigned. The Zarathustra project is under your control once more."

Now displaying some astonishment, Ritsuko stopped to examine the documents handed to her, flipping pages right to the very end, and the news of an unsuccessful field test as well as the sole existing demon man's regular escapes from his holding facility, and the capture of a woman named  
Mika Itoh.

"You fool, Nagamine," Ritsuko snarled. "You started the process too soon... his cravings will only get stronger."

Immediately, Ritsuko stepped past the two agents, seeking the next cab and quickly.

Gendo Rokubungi, meanwhile, exited the plane at last from the very back, ambling amongst the remaining stragglers. An attractive young stewardess smiled and waved as she exited along with him, beginning an utterly uninteresting conversation about the short breaks between her flights.

Gendo would've ignored her completely, were it not for the fact she had a pageboy* haircut. Her smile led to her closing her eyes, and in that moment, he saw the woman he wanted.

He asked the young woman to join him for coffee on her break, and after a few minutes, found himself violating her in the washroom, staring determinedly at the back of her head, muttering out a name that didn't belong to the stewardess. In the heat of their passion she couldn't hear him nor recognize the word he uttered.

Once he'd finished he reclothed himself, leaving her gasping against the wall. She looked after him, tears in her eyes as he staunchly refused her request to meet again. He hadn't even bothered to learn her name, and made it clear he had no desire to.

She had just been a distraction. An outlet for his frustration.

He would see the woman again in time... the Zarathustra project would guarantee that for him, once Ritsuko completed her research and Hirazuki remade the spear for him.

This woman had her hair, and a body vaguely reminiscent enough to arouse Gendo's desires. She did not have the eyes, the nose, the legs, the mind, the soul, or even the career... this stewardess was but a pale, pitiful imitation.

And nothing more.

Asante, meanwhile, waited exactly fifteen minutes to disobey Yuge's instructions, charging headlong into the school once the Captain had gone to meet with the new Vice Chancellor, discussing the child of his predecessor. He didn't have to search much of the school to find his prey; Asante already knew where he'd find his old friend.

His head appeared in the wall as she finished pouring a second cup of tea. Saeki turned, not at all surprised to see him.

"It's been a while, Saeki-chan," Asante noted. "Where shall we begin?"

pageboy haircut* -popularized by a painting of a woman dressed as an English pageboy; notably short, ending just below the ear. This style of haircut is worn by Rei Ayanami and Yui Ikari in _Neon Genesis Evangelion_


	6. Years of Magic

**Chapter Six: Years of Magic**

Saeki seemed indifferent to Asante's presence, and instead she took her cup of tea and sat down at the couch, taking a long draught. Asante finished his emergence from within the wall, stepping down upon the carpet and adjusting his black garb appropriately, smirking confidently.

"I like the lab coat," Asante pointed out. "The look works well for you, Saeki-chan."

Saeki set the cup down. "What do you want?"

"Oh, aren't you a polite hostess?" Asante asked, sitting cross legged on her office floor. "I haven't seen you in ten years, and for the first time, I have reason to. Are you still mad about what I did to you?"

"Your actions were irrelevant," Saeki told him. "You haven't grown up much; you're still an angry, cocky little boy."

"Ah, and right back to the verbal sparring," Asante noted. "You're as cold as ever; still adorned in your personal barriers and distaste for those you view as inferior."

"Why are you here?" Saeki asked, before taking another draught of her tea.

"It seems you've started up another magic club, filling in for your old mistress," Asante answered. "I can't help but wonder what you're up to, especially with your favored Walpurgis Night still two years off."

Saeki filled her glass once more, setting it back on the table before standing up. "I have another matter to take care of. I do not have time for you now."

Asante prepared to make a snide remark, until he suddenly felt considerable pain in his right arm, just above the wrist. His arm snapped back, as Saeki tilted her own right arm.

"Nice trick," Asante noted. "Can't I show you one of mine?"

"You only have one trick," Saeki pointed out. "If I rip out your arm, you'll never get to use another one."

Asante grinned. "Go ahead."

Saeki's eyes flashed. Asante's right hand fell away, leaving his arm naught but a bloody stump, and his right hand fell down, landing on the floor. Asante was then thrown back by some invisible force, struck into her wall.

"You're braver than I remember," Saeki noted. "But no smarter. You've just lost your only source of power."

Saeki then felt Asante's hand tap her shoulder, before passing through the air and reattaching itself to his arm, the only evidence it'd been severed was the gash in Asante's jacket.

"The demon's scars aren't my only source of power, Saeki-chan," Asante told her. "And, I should point out... that _really_ hurt."

Saeki shrugged. "Suck it up. You're a guy, aren't you?"

"As you well know," Asante pointed out. He concentrated and then freed himself from being pinned on the wall, dropping back down to eye level. "I'll leave you to your game for now, Saeki-chan... but don't worry, I'll be back."

"I won't hold back when you do," Saeki pointed out. "Unless you are of some use to me, I will kill you."

Asante slipped back out through her wall, and a few moments later, Vice Chancellor Oshima knocked on her door. Eavesdropping from outside, Asante did his best to stay awake, until he finally collapsed against the wall, his energy sapped from the effort placed into recreating his arm.

_Damn blondes..._

Back underground, Ritsuko watched as Zarathustra brutally struck at the wall, screaming in rage even through the bulletproof glass. A few armed agents were on either side of her, ready to fire upon instruction, and pacify the monstrosity once more.

"What's the status of Itoh-san?" Ritsuko asked.

"Incoherent," the agent replied. "In and out of consciousness. All she seems to care about is gaining pleasure, particularly if she can obtain it from the demon man."

"We might as well keep her there," Ritsuko nodded. "Not a fate I'd seek out, but Zarathustra's completed his programming. We need additional subjects for him."

"Anyone in mind in particular?" the agent asked.

"No, but see who's homeless," Ritsuko instructed. "If that fails, talk to Asante-kun. I'm sure he can suggest some toys he's stopped playing with."

"Actually, based on the reports you've given, Doctor, we already have a candidate in mind," the agent responded.

"Who?" Ritsuko asked.

"Her name is Minase Yukiko," the agent answered. "She's a physician at the hospital Hirazuki visited."

"And what makes her a candidate?" Ritsuko asked.

"Her considerable promiscuity," the agent answered, "and the fact she was apparently one of Hirazuki's lovers, given the number of times she appeared in surveillance."

Ritsuko only gave a curt nod before stepping into her office, away from the prying eyes of the agents so she could look at the clock.

_Where are you, Gendo? Shouldn't you have returned by now?_

And then she glanced down at the folders scattered about, open to specific agent's profiles: Hirazuki Asante and Imari Kurumi.

_Reckless fool..._

At the apartment of Imari Kurumi, formerly the apartment rented to Saeki Kaori and her friends Jun and Maki, a very unfamiliar man stepped forth to claim his prize.

To most, it was naught but a black sphere, somehow holding above the ground and floating without effort, tightly wound together and strangely liquidated, as though it were forced into its state.

Yet, at his touch, it was ready to enter a new host, and begin life anew. The dark matter began to tint his flesh gray, and cut scars and burns all through him as it entered his blood stream.

"Welcome, dealmaker. I have a deal for you."


	7. The Mark

**Chapter Seven: The Mark**

Asante awoke, staggering up to his feet, bathed in sudden, powerful light. He detected a strange absence in the air, as though atoms were being pushed away or outright destroyed from a particular area beside him. He glanced upwards and found the source of the disturbance.

"Morning, young lady," Asante greeted, grinning lewdly.

The 'young lady' he referred to would've appeared as little more than an attractive young blonde, were it not for the fact she was wearing a long, clear robe (revealing quite a bit of her form) and floating a few feet above him.

She turned her gaze down at him, looking as frank and direct as Saeki. "**Alchemist. Will you become my servant****?**"

Asante raised an eyebrow. "Depends entirely on what you mean by that, little girl."

She closed her eyes and shot down, raising her finger and running it along Asante's forehead, moving faster than he could react.

And then his forehead began to burn, as he felt his flesh being cut in a specific pattern, skin peeling away and being imbued with some new energy source.

Asante cried out in pain and surprise, reaching up his hands to grasp either side of his head, trying to contain the pain, or at least dull himself to it.

"**Your hesitation has been your downfall,****Alchemist****,**" she told him. "**Now your body and mind are mine to contort****.**"

Asante opened his eyes to glare at her, feeling the markings burn slowly along his forehead, as he tried desperately to think of a way to escape from whatever spell she'd placed upon him.

With nothing cleverer available to him, Asante concentrated, and his right hand released the charge, and he blew his forehead right off of his body. He cried out again, as the now-severed chunk of flesh landed at his feet. His exposed skull bore the two characters this woman had made upon him, but he had managed to abate her spell in time, so the inscription she'd been trying to make remained incomplete.

He spent a few seconds coughing and bleeding, but Asante managed to glare up at her and utter his response: "Was that it? Was that all you had?"

The young girl smirked, as her voice became softer, less powerful. "You are a crude man, Alchemist. So long as you have any of my power within you, you will still become my servant."

Asante concentrated, his skin forced back at a rapid rate to recreate his forehead, before he resumed glaring at the girl, two red marks forming above his left eye. "What's your name, girl?"

"Why should I?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Because I'd like to know your name before I rape and kill you," Asante replied. "Ideally in that order."

Her smiled broadened. "Jody Crowley." Her smile vanished just as quickly. "My influence remains within you, Alchemist. When the time is right, I will call on you to do my bidding."

"And when you least expect it, I will take what I want from you," Asante replied, the mark still burning. "This isn't over."

"It has only begun," Jody agreed, before vanishing, heading towards her next target, already involved in a perverted ritual orchestrated by Jody's latest rival.

Asante's vision was growing hazier. "Damn blondes..." He muttered before he collapsed again.

Speaking of blondes, Ritsuko turned her attention to Zarathustra, still thrashing about in his cell, as both awaited the woman who would serve as his next toy.

The agents would be coming back in a few minutes, but Ritsuko already knew she would be visited by someone else first, given his penchant for emerging from darkness to make his latest cryptic remark about whatever plan he currently had in the works.

"Gendo," she greeted, not turning to address him.

"Doctor," Gendo replied, half his face twisted into a smile. He placed a hand on her shoulder, caressing beneath the lab coat. "How I've learned to appreciate your many talents."

"A compliment?" Ritsuko asked, still not turning. "What have I done to merit that?"

"You are bringing to me something I want," Gendo answered. "Something that Zarathustra wants too, oddly enough."

"Are you referring to Minase?" Ritsuko asked. "She won't be of any use after Zarathustra has her. Any knowledge she possesses will be ripped out of her."

"I have no need for her mind or soul," Gendo stated flatly. "And you, Doctor, have another obligation to fulfill. Bring me your treasured conscript."

"He's in the field today," Ritsuko pointed out. "And why should I follow your orders?"

Gendo didn't answer her. Instead, he exited, using a recently-marked right hand to enter a holding cell, where a young doctor had recently been placed. He smiled as he glanced down at her, lying unconscious on the ground in a white lab coat, a black skirt and stockings, not unlike Ritsuko's attire.

Yet, more importantly than that, she had a pageboy haircut to go with her attractive figure.

Gendo's lewd grin spread to all his face.


	8. Reconstruction and Reward

**Chapter Eight: Reconstruction and Reward**

Yukiko Minase was a respected physician to the medical community, and was always considered competent and intelligent doctor... outside her general hospital. To her regular male patients and a number of the male doctors, she was nothing but a regular toy; a good, dependable whore, always insatiably requesting their touch and using nothing more but her body to alleviate their pain and their stress.

Her long-term reassignment to become a government physician had been something of a disappointment to them, but Yukiko didn't mind. She had no doubt she would have ample opportunity to turn her considerable talents to even stronger, and even more virile men.

Now, however, she was 'treating' an older man, who she did not find attractive. She quickly acclimated however, as all she truly sought was pleasure and release, so she clenched her body to his', writhing beneath him.

Gendo had no interest in looking at her face; he kept his head buried between each of her breasts. He thrust in and out very quickly, knowing full well that he could go for an hour more if he so wished; the demon spurred him on, granting him unnatural, inhuman stamina, and only increasing his lust and his frustration.

A few moments later he ejaculated and tossed her back down, removing himself from her quickly, as though she were something dirty... something beneath him.

As Yukiko panted on the cold ground, stained by his release, Gendo chastised himself. _Damn... damn these women! They do nothing but hold me back!_

**Oh? How do you mean, Rokubungi?**

_These filthy, disgusting desires of mine... all they do is remind me of the weakness of my flesh. These whores I defile... all they do is remind me of my own weakness._

**We all need release,** the demon told him. **I told you I would help curb your desires. That was part of our pact.**

_Shut up. Leave me alone._

**As you wish.**

Gendo reclothed himself and headed for the exit back out to the cell block. Yukiko reached up to grasp his wrist, eyes alight with tears. "Please... don't go yet. I want more..."

Half of Gendo's face was locked into a perverted grin. The other half sneered. "Don't touch me, you filthy slut. I'm done with you now." He pulled his arm sharply away from her and stepped out, angrier than before.

_You are nothing like her,_ Gendo thought. _You are nothing but a moment of my weakness._

"Gendo," he heard Ritsuko call, as he turned down the cell block. "Mind if I ask what you were doing in there?"

"Taking my fill before your pet destroys her completely," Gendo responded. "Why?"

Ritsuko cast him a disgusted look. "I just thought you should know; the man you need has returned."

A few moments later, Gendo found Asante waiting in Ritsuko's lab/office, and immediately pulled from his coat pocket a baggie, within it was the hunk of red metal that had once been part of the replica of the Lance of Longinus.

"I've had an eventful day, Rokubungi," Asante told him, his back to Gendo. "So, I sincerely hope this'll be done with quickly."

The smile on half of Gendo's face faltered. **That voice...**

Asante turned, distinguishable by one red eye and one green eye. Distinguishable by the long, dark hair, the pale, scarred skin, and the small horn above his eye.

**Him...**

Gendo tried to remain calm and expressionless, even as his other half became contorted by confusion and rage. "Reconstruct this for me, please; your analysis shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Heh," Asante smirked. "You underestimate me." The baggy fell from Gendo's hands, and the red metal chunk floated up instead, and Asante closed his eyes to concentrate. In the few seconds the hunk of red metal floated before him he examined its every element, determining immediately what he needed to create more of and what would hold the compounds together.

And then it appeared; a staff ending in two blade-like prongs, taller than Gendo, but now resting comfortably in his hand. It was heavy, but Gendo had no problem holding it.

**He is able to perform alchemy without his right hand... he has advanced much further without my aid.**

Asante opened his eyes. "My end of the deal is completed. When should I claim my reward?" His eyes moved lecherously towards Ritsuko, who looked away, trying to seem uninterested.

"Whenever you want," Gendo told him. "Whenever the good doctor is prepared, I should say."

The demon relaxed ever so slightly. **He is still controlled by the lust I instilled in him. He may have more power, but he is every bit as vulnerable...**

As Gendo turned, the demon spotted two new marks on Asante's forehead. For the first time, fear -not surprise- overwhelmed him.

**That marking...**

_What is it?_

**When I was first summoned by a human, he used a circle designed with that rune. That was 110 years ago, by an Englishman with an unusual penchant for harnessing my power. His enchantment was so powerful, when I believed he'd sold his soul to me, instead he'd insured I would serve him for the rest of his life.**

_And which master was that?_

The demon looked out with Gendo's eye as Asante led Ritsuko away, ignoring the cries of a familiar green-haired woman behind bulletproof glass and the gray monstrosity recklessly and violently using her.

**His name was Aleister Crowley.**

-

Saeki was not pleased. Once again, her ritual had been interrupted, and her plans for the Vice Chancellor were rendered moot. Imari had stepped forth with a young virgin girl at her side, and had already orchestrated a new ritual in its place. They discarded Oshima Takeshi, turning their attention instead to the young Ichikawa, who simply couldn't believe her senpai Imari had transformed in such a manner.

Imari informed Saeki of Tokken's involvement, and how it was likely to escalate as the day wore on. Saeki politely informed her mistress that she had already disposed of Hirazuki Asante, after testing her powers against their conscript to her satisfaction.

Yet, despite the arrival of her most powerful ally and the resumption of her ritual, Saeki could not help but feel the resentment growing within her. With Imari returned to her role as mistress and Kitami's soul now awakened within her, Saeki would once more be relegated to a subordinate position, and no longer enjoy the simple joys of command.

She cast a knowing glance to Saki. The student body president nodded, ready to break ranks at a moment's notice and serve the head of the witchcraft club. Saeki then turned her attention to Yuki, and the young, fox-faced girl nodded. The two Saeki had handpicked to serve her were preparing to fight at her side, if ever Imari's plans steered them away from Saeki's own ambitions...

Elsewhere, Jody opened her eyes, tired of watching Imari and Saeki at work. Her two bodyguards stepped forth from the wilderness to join her, even as she changed from her clear robe into a more commonplace schoolgirl uniform.

She glared at them, not concealing her contempt. She had not bothered to learn either of their names; such a task was beneath her notice. These two women had at least marginal magical skill, so they were useful enough for her to ask their assistance. "Reika Kitami has returned," Jody observed. "I have placed two of my servants amongst her already, but I feel the odds have not shifted enough... there is still too much uncertainty."

"What do you mean, Jody-sama?" asked the first of the two, a woman with well-trimmed silver hair and a blue sleeved shirt to match her leather uniform.

"I mean, there is still power enough to thwart me," Jody replied. "I've only returned to this form recently... and in this state, I cannot compare to Reika Kitami or even her old nemesis, Hiroko Takashiro."

"What do you need of us, Jody-sama?" asked the second, a woman with spiky blonde hair and yellow sleeves on her leather uniform.

"There is another player in this game, witting or not," Jody replied. "I fought an alchemist, but was unable to finish affixing my seal to him. Find his weakness. Do not return to me until you know how to trap him."

Both vanished the instant she'd finished speaking. Jody's word was their law.

The alchemist she spoke of had deliberately ignored reporting back to Captain Yuge or even informing the Tokken administrators of the day's events; he had something far more important to attend to. Ritsuko accompanied him to his home, silent and neutral, but prepared to fulfill her end of the bargain.

Asante's living room felt like a padded cell. His bedroom had a comfortable bed with recently washed sheets -a small mercy- but still had the air of darkness and neglect, and she felt confined there.

He began to disrobe her in silence, moving slowly to take in every new inch of her figure. Ritsuko's breath began a slow hitch; she might not have been looking forward to curbing Asante's lusts, but she couldn't deny the tension she felt. It would be the first sexual intercourse she'd had since college, and Asante would only be the fourth man she'd made love to.

He was three years her junior. She hated the way he used and abused other women, and hated his general demeanor. She didn't like his personality at all. And while Asante was powerfully built and (at least according to security recordings) quite virile, she could not bring herself to be attracted to him. To the idea and the act of sex, perhaps, but not to him.

He started out forcefully. It had been a long enough time that Ritsuko did not immediately know how to react, so she did not writhe. She grunted and she groaned and she laid back and accepted him.

Asante was strong and silent. That alone was unusual; he usually had plenty to say about his lover for one reason or another, but now he was constantly trying to lock onto Ritsuko's gaze. It was no easy task as she constantly looked away, understandably averse to the bloody red hue or the piercing green one.

Ritsuko thought perhaps Asante would not be done with her after this single night... indeed, she had agreed to do this for him as often as he wished. Though not looking forward to the future, she began to settle into it... the sex wouldn't be bad, and would, if nothing else, improve her slackening cardiovascular system.

Yuge, though used to his agents running off without prior order, was not used to not hearing from them. Imari, Ichikawa, and Asante were all AWOL, and he intended to find some manner to deal with.

Until a man who Asante had allegedly executed appeared in his office, anyway, lifting himself up through the floor, out of the carpet as easily as he passed through the air.

"Good evening, Captain," Gendo greeted. "I came to inform you about something called the Zarathustra project. Does the name ring a bell?"

"You're supposed to be dead, Rokubungi," Yuge stated flatly.

"As are you, Captain," Gendo pointed out, half his face locked in a smile. "In case you forgot, the only reason you survived to become a Tokken Lieutenant was because of my word."

Yuge flinched.

"I'm calling in your debt," Gendo stated. "In exchange for not revealing me to your superiors, I need you to secure all the female officers under your command... and bid them farewell."

"What the hell are you planning on doing to them?" Yuge demanded.

"I?" Gendo asked. "I intend to do nothing. But the creature known as Zarathustra... will just rip out their souls and increase his strength, until his programming is complete." All of Gendo's mouth turned to a smile. "It is a simple transaction, Captain. The lives of your subordinates to repay the cost of your own life."


	9. Do What Thou Wilt

**Chapter Nine: Do What Thou Wilt**

_Twenty-two years earlier..._

May 2nd

"You failed," the administrator stated simply. "What more is there for me to tell you? This organization has the strictest admission standards available. You'd be better off just returning to police work, patrolman."

Toruda shook his head. "I have no faith in the academy anymore. All our crime scene investigation was interrupted by your unit before we could learn anything conclusive."

"That isn't true at all," the administrator responded. "_You_ were removed from the assignment. At least one member of your forensic team was present throughout the course of our cleanup."

"Sir, I am an expert in forensics-"

"Be that as it may, Yuge, you're a little too close for comfort to one of the subjects of this investigation," the administrator told him flatly. "And, put simply, you do not meet our standards. You scored very well on our written examination, but failed the practical application and have displayed poor ethical conduct. Return to your office. You may reapply here in six months time if you wish."

And their meeting was concluded. Toruda Yuge was escorted from the building, and he was less-than pleased with the arrangement. He took the rail back out from Nishi-Shinjuku to the outskirts of the industrialization, back to the high school that had led him to this despair.

The sight of the academy only made him angrier. What he knew awaited him at home only made things worse for him.

He stepped into his single bedroom apartment, watching the light bulb flicker above his head as he stepped in. "Junko-kun? I'm home."

He received no response from his ward. After the strange events of April 31st, Yuge had opted to accept a young woman, disowned by her parents into his home. It had been a far from ideal setup, as the girl rarely spoke, and couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye. She was always downcast, her glasses obscuring her eyes at all times. She didn't cook or clean, she just went to school and came home and sat on his couch, staring into space.

This time, however, she was nowhere to be seen. His bedroom door was closed for some reason, and Toruda stepped forth to open it. He recoiled at the sight, as opening the door allowed him to hear the moans and spot the gesticulation of bodies.

He immediately reached for his sidearm but paused, trying to comprehend what had been happening. Junko was crying out, clutching the blue sheets of his bed in deep, reverent passion, her legs still adorned in her school's regulation black stockings. The man penetrating her so deeply was still almost fully clothed, wearing dark black clothing.

The sound of the drawn weapon alerted him, as he turned, dark eyes locking with Yuge's sunglasses. "Ah... the law seeks me now, does it?"

"Release her immediately!" Yuge instructed.

The man smiled, still thrusting. He raised one white-gloved hand, fist clenched. Upon opening his palm, Yuge briefly saw a symbol of some sort... a hexagram...

"The Unicursal... you're a practitioner of Thelema?*"

The man only smiled, before stating: "The only law is do as thou wilt."

The next thing Yuge knew, it was he thrusting in and out of Junko. She writhed as passionately beneath him as she had for the other man.

_Toruda... I can feel all the darkness in your heart. Give yourself over to your lust for this young woman._

Yuge continued his thrusts, beginning to appreciate the pleasure he gained from these lewd actions. Junko seemed to be enjoying herself, and though he had never considered this before, Yuge felt himself liking this prospect more and more.

That's it. Use her. Abuse her. Mark her with your seed and make her yours'.

The prospect was too tempting to ignore. After a few moments more, Yuge pulled out and released himself on Junko's face, allowing himself a deep moan of satisfaction.

Heh heh... you have amused me, Toruda Yuge... I should reward you that.

Suddenly feeling lethargic and even drained, Yuge collapsed into the bed, listening to Junko's panting breath as he dozed off...

_May 3rd_

He was called back to the office by the same administrator who interviewed him before. While the administrator remained firm in his opinion Yuge was unfit to join them, his colleagues felt differently and had insisted that he join them, under the command of a man named Rokubungi, to join him in a long term project for the next ten years or more.

There was no mistaking Rokubungi when Yuge met him. He immediately moved to draw his weapon, but Rokubungi only needed to show him the hexagram upon his palm. And from that day forth, Yuge was little more than a slave, perpetually following his supervisor's commands. Yuge was satiated each night with female flesh, and each time he did so Rokubungi stood back and observed, cold and humorless, but ever appreciative... every time Yuge went out to curb his lustful desires, Gendo was there to harvest something at the end of each intercourse.

And then, in 2000, Gendo disappeared, and Yuge was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, and given command of his own division of men in the newly reorganized crime unit Tokken.

All was well.

Except the day he returned to his apartment and found Junko swaying back and forth, her feet dangling above the floor, cold and unmoving, with the noose taut around her neck.

"Yuge? Respond to me."

Snapping back to the present, Yuge focused his sunglasses-covered eyes on Gendo. "No. I refuse."

Gendo's smile filled his face. "I'm sorry to hear that. I suppose now I'll have no choice but to take them by force."

"I'll out you long before you succeed in whatever you're planning," Yuge promised.

Gendo only turned, walking away, gloved hands in his pockets. "Oh, and one more thing; whatever became of your ward?"

"Don't you know?" Yuge asked, glaring at him.

"I do," Gendo answered. "I just wanted to see if you had hardened your heart enough to tell me. It would seem not..." He gave a short chuckle and then sank into the floor, the carpet burning a resolute black until he was gone from sight.

At once, Yuge reached for his phone, only to feel a finger press down and hold the machine steady.

"The administrator is aware of Rokubungi's return, Captain," came a voice from behind him. With what peripheral vision he had, all Yuge could make out was a thin black outline. "You will cooperate with him fully."

Yuge snarled. "I'm not selling out any member of my unit to that devil."

"These are direct orders, Captain. You will start with Ichikawa-san when she returns from her assignment."

"Ichikawa-kun?" Yuge thought. "The hell I will, you-" He reached behind him but felt nothing, finding nothing but empty air behind him.

Yuge picked up the phone once more. The line had gone dead.

Elsewhere, on her way to the school she'd once taught at, Hiroko Takashiro stepped forward again, to learn what had become of Kaori Saeki and the blonde girl she'd battled before, the one who -like Kitami- had done such harm to her in a battle of magic.

Instead, as she approached in the dead of night, she found a woman with spiky blonde hair in her path.

"Takashiro-sensei," the woman greeted with a pleasant smile. "It's been far too long."

And as Ritsuko left Asante's apartment, she too was interrupted by a woman with well-trimmed silver hair. "Please let me through, Dr. Akagi; I have business with the alchemist."

Ritsuko drew back, as Asante, shirtless and exposing the scars and runes for all to see, stepped out his apartment door.

"An alchemist?" he repeated. "You found one." He clenched his fist, igniting hydrogen atoms in the air, building flames together. "Can I help you?"

And in the cell block beneath their exterior mansion, Gendo Rokubungi watched through the thick, bulletproof glass as Zarathustra eagerly attacked his latest prey. Yukiko squirmed at first but gave in quickly enough, pressed against the glass and crying out as she was thrust into over and over again, her body soon hacked and bloody by the sheer force of Zarathustra's movements.

Only the demon smiled. Gendo's lust would not be provoked again by the whore before him.

"Is all proceeding smoothly?" came a voice behind him. Even with the added senses of the demon, all Gendo's peripheral vision could make out was a thin outline.

"On schedule," Gendo answered neutrally. "I'll be reporting to the administrator once he's finished with this one."

"I'll relay it to him," the shadowy figure answered, vanishing from sight.

Gendo continued to observe as Yukiko reached climax, and Zarathustra's process began. To a casual observer, they'd see no such change in the muscles or skin, but Gendo knew what he was looking for. Blood was siphoned out, and Yukiko's silky skin grayed ever so slightly.

That was the first step. Less than a single percentage point of her soul had been taken. By morning, Yukiko would be naught but an empty husk, nothing more than a soulless object to satiate the lustful desires of whatever men (or women) Gendo would sway to his cause.

There was an imbalance still, however... if he missed the opportunity, the entire project would be for naught, and he'd have destroyed all these women's lives for nothing.

Not that he objected too strongly... even if he couldn't achieve his true goal, Gendo would gain unparalleled power when he thrust the lance forth and siphoned all those souls away...


	10. The Scarlet Woman

**Chapter Ten: The Scarlet Woman**

"I have already battled your mistress," Takashiro pointed out. "Why would you try and battle me, when you know you can't win?"

"I'm just here for some information," the blonde woman answered. "There is an alchemist who was once a student of yours'. What became of him?"

Takashiro took a moment to think, raising her prayer beads to the ready. Who was this person referring to? So many students had gained some sort of magical power during the chaotic events of the Walpurgis Night, but who had-?

_**It's not magic in my possession, sensei. It's only alchemy.**_

And then she remembered, the dark-haired boy with the bright green eyes and the right hand that could transform the nature of matter. The boy who, on one of the last days of the term, had transformed her already wild pheromones to his wishes, and had used her body so very... vigorously.

"Hirazuki-kun..." Takashiro muttered, in barely more than a whisper.

And with that, the blonde woman smiled and vanished. Takashiro glanced around and then cursed herself; she'd provided the very information they sought. Without wasting any time, Takashiro hailed the nearest cab and hoped Asante hadn't moved very far away from the apartment he'd used so often...

At that very same apartment, Ritsuko had intended to leave now that Asante had taken his fill from her, but was perplexed and fascinated by this occurrence. The woman with silver hair was charging energy into her gloved hands and smiling confidently.

Asante's hands appeared to be on fire, as hydrogen atoms continued to ignite within him. "Let's get this started," he declared before bounding forward, running up along the air as easily as he ran over the ground.

The woman leapt backwards to avoid a fiery slash, only to immediately turn and slash Asante's forehead with a single finger. Once again he felt a burning sensation, as a third rune sliced and etched itself upon his forehead.

Asante drew back before she could slash him again, snarling. "You must work for young Miss Crowley."

The silver haired woman did not answer and shot forth, pressing her attack. Asante moved a few carbon atoms up from the ground, creating a diamond hard barrier for her to smash into. Only the prompt creation of a shield prevented her from being skewered as Asante converted the total mass of the carbon atoms from a wall into a hail storm, bombarding her with diamond spikes.

They continued to attack and defend against each other for a few more moments, until the silver haired woman turned her attention away from Asante and instead focused upon the blonde woman, still watching the affair from the sidelines.

Upon locking their respective gazes, Ritsuko prepared to run, but she was nowhere near fast enough. The silver haired woman shot at her, drawing her fingers towards Ritsuko's forehead.

Until Asante moved in the way, placing his forehead in the path instead, holding out his right hand, which found the woman's face, grasping onto it. As she painted a fourth symbol onto him, Asante ripped every last iron atom out of her face.

Both fell back, their face burning for one reason or another. Asante grasped either side of his head but remained protectively in front of Ritsuko, as the silver haired woman clamored up to her feet, blood leaking from all over her face, its pace no longer slow enough to be moderated.

"Tell your mistress that I want to reiterate my message," Asante snapped, trying to keep a tough face, despite the sensation of being burnt and cut simultaneously. "She'll be mine eventually."

The silver haired woman smiled, even as blood drained out from her mouth and lip. "Half the spell has been completed. More and more of your self is being eaten away... and it'll be easier to finish the task, now that we know your weakness."

Asante blinked. The woman disappeared.

Ritsuko glanced at him, confused, as a cab pulled up, and out stepped a nun, adorned in a purple robe and a white hood. She paid the fare and stepped forth, holding some prayer beads in her left hand.

"Hirazuki-kun," she greeted, hoping she was correct... but the scars, the horn, the right hand, and the eyes all gave it away. There was no doubt it was him.

Asante felt the atoms running around this woman, but could not detect any in her body. She had erected some kind of protective, immediate barrier, and he could not decipher much. Her powers did not have the same signature as the arcane magic he'd come to know so well... it was being drawn from something other than innate capability or practice. It was as though this woman was receiving assistance from some other unseen power source.

Her voice was familiar, but he didn't recognize the face. "Who are you?" he asked rather gruffly.

"I'm sorry you don't remember me," the nun told him, bowing. "I was your art teacher, T-"

"Takashiro-sensei," Asante finished for her. He felt slightly awkward, given the last time the two had spoken was during a vigorous sexual session almost ten years prior... "Why are you here?"

Takashiro did not answer immediately, and instead moved her hand to feel Asante's forehead. His first instinct was to retract, but her hand felt unusually warm... and her touch was soft and pleasant as she ran her fingers over the characters now burned into his flesh.

"Jody is after you," Takashiro said simply. "Hirazuki-kun, may I come in and speak with you?"

"Certainly," Asante agreed. "Ritsuko-san, would you excuse us?" Ritsuko only nodded and headed away, still indifferent after Asante had rushed to her aid.

"Girlfriend?" Takashiro asked as Asante led her in, sitting down at his table for some Earl Grey tea.

"I had hoped you knew me better than that, sensei," Asante pointed out. "Since when has that ever been necessary for me to get what I want?"

"It isn't too late, even for one such as you," Takashiro pointed out. "You should never write off trying to save yourself from the scars the demon inflicted upon you."

"Most of these scars are self inflicted," Asante countered, voice icy. "I don't want to seem rude, but could you get to whatever it is you came to discuss with me?" He handed her a cup of tea, steam lifting off the light brown surface.

Takashiro took a sip and then continued. "Jody is looking for a woman she knows only as the Scarlet Woman. A young woman who is destined to bear the child that will inherit all the powers of the devil."

"Revelations according to John," Asante chimed in. "And why-?"

"Jody seeks to fulfill her grandfather's prophecy," Takashiro stated. "She knows the Scarlet Woman is in this country, and she knows the Lance of Longinus is in this country."

Asante's expression changed. "The Lance of Longinus?"

"Yes," Takashiro answered. "It is in several pieces, but could theoretically-"

"I just reconstructed it," Asante interjected. "With a piece no larger than my thumb, I recreated it for my... employer, into a weapon roughly the size of his body, ending in two prongs."

"Is he a trustworthy man?" Takashiro asked.

_Not even remotely._ "Sure. Why not?"

"Then that matter can wait," Takashiro told him. "It happens I know the identity of the Scarlet Woman... I hope you don't mind if I don't tell you..." She glanced up at the runes imbedded in Asante's forehead.

"How long do you think until Jody completes this transformation on me?" Asante asked, following her eye movement.

"Maybe a day or two," Takashiro answered. "She will be relentless."

Asante grinned. "Good."

Takashiro took another long draught of tea. "Hirazuki-kun, I'll contact you again. I think I may need your help... Jody isn't the only one involved in this struggle."

Asante narrowed his eyes. "Saeki-chan?"

"I hope it's only her," Takashiro answered. "But I felt the seal I placed on Imari-san break. Kitami may have woken by now."

"Kitami-sensei is alive?" Asante asked, somewhere between astonished and altogether not surprised.

"And I am going to locate her by nightfall," Takashiro confirmed. "Thank you for your hospitality, Hirazuki-kun. If all goes well, we could have recovered the lance and the Red Lady by tomorrow."

"Do remember, sensei, there is a price for my cooperation," Asante pointed out, eyeing her lecherously. "And you know the only thing I ever demand in payment."

Before returning to the campus to gather with her forces, Kurumi Imari/Reika Kitami returned to her apartment to shower and gather up clothing, when she noticed something different about her night stand.

Namely, that the black sphere containing the dealmaker had vanished.

Kitami cursed. _Gone? Who could've been here to take it from me? Has Saeki-san betrayed me already? No... this is too soon for her. Who would've-_

And she remembered the boy she'd taken the demon from. A boy Saeki had battled earlier in the day.

_Hirazuki Asante._

And back at Tokken's underground headquarters, Gendo lifted up through the floor again, appearing before a council of Tokken administrators.

"Zarathustra's power is growing," Gendo reported. "As we had expected. The process will be complete by the time the Red Lady reaches the appropriate cycle."

The shadowy figures remained stoic, as a single administrator, the only one that was composed of flesh and blood and not machinery and interconnected voice synthesizers, leaned forward to address Gendo, revealing the decaying flesh. "Jody is operating on her own, so I cannot be certain she will confirm the Red Lady's identity. Do you know any who might know it?"

"Captain Toruda Yuge, perhaps?" Gendo suggested.

"Unlikely," the administrator stated. "He would leave my employ at a moment's notice to save the lives of his subordinates; even if he knew I would be unable to force the information out of him."

"That's one problem, I agree," Gendo nodded. "But why must we use Zarathustra for this? Wouldn't any virile male serve the purpose?"

"Not for me and you well know it," the administrator spat. "Zarathustra's body carries my blood within it. I will only be able to safeguard my soul in his progeny."

"And thus gain all the powers of the devil at last," Gendo confirmed, as the dealmaker's smile vanished completely, as the truth began to dawn on the lesser demon. "And once you've succeeded in that task, all I need do is pierce the unthinking monstrosity and absorb Zarathustra's power."

"It is folly to assume that you will gain the powers of a god," the administrator told him flatly. "If that is, indeed, what you want?"

"Have I not told you enough for you to trust me?" Gendo asked. Both heard a door open and stopped talking, but relaxed as Ritsuko stepped forward.

"Sorry I'm late, gentlemen," she greeted. "Jody was after our alchemist."

"She is welcome to him," Gendo said. "He has served his purpose."

"Did I miss anything important?" Ritsuko asked. She glanced at the animatronic figures, all unmoving. "I see you've finally dropped the facade."

"Zarathustra will be ready in two days, assuming we gather enough female flesh for him," Gendo assured. "No doubt within that time Jody will know the Red Lady's identity."

The dealmaker's fear was apparent. Gendo only smiled as he felt half his body run cold.

"Then I suppose it's time I join the fray," the administrator said. "This body is falling apart, but it won't matter... Doctor Akagi, bring me down to see our beloved prototype."

"As you wish, Aleister Crowley-sama."


	11. A Tale of Two Prophecies

**Chapter Eleven: A Tale of Two Prophecies**

Asante stepped towards the surface entrance he used least frequently, the manor Yuge's team had been assigned to. Normally he might've gone into the city to use the main entrance, but this facility was where his team leader was, and he doubted Captain Yuge would allow him to escape from being collared if the alchemist didn't give him some sort of explanation.

He stepped inside, and found Yuge sitting behind his desk, gloved hands on either side of his head. He glanced up at Asante, and immediately drew his pistol and leveled it at the Lieutenant.

"Is this a formality?" Asante asked, raising his hands and smirking.

"You were ordered to kill Gendo Rokubungi," Yuge said, sounding rasher and speaking faster than usual. "Why is he still alive?"

Asante continued to smirk. "I wasn't taking orders from you on that mission, Captain. My orders were to secure him alive."

Yuge lowered his sidearm and leaned back in his chair. "Somehow I'm not surprised. Where were you today?"

"I had to fend off a young woman named Jody Crowley," Asante answered. "Name sound familiar?"

"We've been tracking her movements, yes," Yuge answered. "It seems everyone with any magical power is piling into the country for one reason or another." He lifted a dossier and offered it to Asante. "We've lost our chief investigator. Her immediate subordinate has been hospitalized."

"Imari-san is gone?" Asante asked. Not that it had particularly surprised him...

"Since you're here, I'll make use of you," Yuge said. "Unless you have been expressly forbidden by an administrator, you will tell me why you kept Gendo Rokubungi alive."

Recognizing it was time to start being more selective about his choice of words, Asante cleared his throat. "He was brought back so I could reconstruct the Lance of Longinus for him. I remade it earlier today."

"The Lance of Longinus?" Yuge repeated. "Impossible. The government's only surviving fragment was stolen during the bank robbery. A bank robbery which -coincidentally- you broke up for us."

Asante's smirk vanished completely.

"What's going on, Lieutenant? What have you been working on?"

Ritsuko pushed his wheel chair, the old man struggling for breath with every movement. Gendo walked by his right, half his face contorted into a frightened, cowed expression.

Aleister muttered to himself: "_A man and woman in the forest. In the midst of their passion, the woman vanishes, and the man is stabbed in the three things he treasures most. He is run through with a sword, decorated by an upside down cross. _"

"_The corpse was torn asunder by the lions and buried at a certain road. At the full moon, a sorcerer appeared with a book under his arm. The sorcerer drew a circle upon the flat ground of the road, adorning it with his personal magics and seals. He entered the circle and began his spell._

Aleister coughed and wheezed, but continued. "_The woman reappeared, and attempted to seduce him. He shunned her advances and continued to chant. Enraged at this indifference and this mockery, the woman revealed her true form... the ugly, fanged succubus. Yet, for all her rage, and the powers at her disposal, she could not touch the sorcerer in his circle. The succubus rescinded back into Hell, and the sorcerer's body breaks apart, revealing his skeleton._"

Ritsuko and Gendo remained silent, and Aleister continued. "_The sorcerer prayed. He lifted his book skyward and levitated up, towards the moon..._"

At last finished, Aleister resumed gasping for air. Ritsuko glanced down and asked: "What is that? A parable?"

"A prophecy, often mistaken for a spell to raise one's soul to Heaven," Aleister answered. "I read it a long time ago, and transcribed it into a grimoire."

**A grimoire?** Gendo heard the demon ask. Before Gendo could move his lips, Aleister craned his head up and glanced at the bearded man.

"Yes, deal maker; the same grimoire Reika Kitami coveted," he answered. "And as much as you'd like to hide from me, I can still see you clearly."

"You'll have to forgive the demon, Crowley-sama," Gendo chimed in. "I took him from Kitami; I wouldn't allow her to make use of his power when we could instead."

Aleister was silent for several seconds. "Very well." He turned his attention to the bulletproof glass, and the gray-skinned man tethered to the wall by chains.

"We're about to offer him his latest," Ritsuko said. "Would you like to observe?"

"Absolutely," Aleister answered, grinning and waiting for the process to begin.

Meanwhile, Saeki glanced down at the few pages she had cobbled together. Kitami/Imari had assisted her in reconstructing it from mere ashes, but there were fragments in nearly all of the spells and stories, and she had less than a tenth of the work remade, and had only so many ashes left to remake it with.

There was one prophecy in particular that interested her. She had only a few words of it, but upon examination of the text, she discerned that the author was Aleister Crowley... and this particular excerpt was the most recent tenet of the grimoire. Assuming Crowley had read the rest of the book beforehand, it was possible that he'd drawn some conclusion... or made one himself.

And it was, indeed, a conclusion, as it seemed to indicate that one sorcerer in particular, with the aid of the grimoire, could escape the cycle of life and death, shedding the mortal coil. Though this story specified a male sorcerer, Saeki thought perhaps it was little more than Aleister Crowley's famous ego, and his desire to achieve immortality himself.

However, to Saeki, it was opportunity. Kitami/Imari may have dismissed it, but to Saeki, this spell meant an escape and a venue for the power that would allow her to surpass her mistress at last. She had to know what was lost... what incantation she needed to create this impenetrable circle and what magic she needed to burn her flesh away and move beyond purely physical existence.

That did make her wonder... was it possible that _she_ knew what Crowley had written? Saeki's attention turned towards Yuki, eyes a deeper black hue than they had been before the fire.

The time was coming. She would have to decide if she was going to betray Kitami... and decide soon.

Harada Eri awoke on the cold ground, listening to strange gasping around her. She clamored to her knees, only to immediately cover her chest; she was wearing only what clothes remained after her patient Oshima had violently ripped them all apart. She glanced around, hoping no one would notice... but quickly realized her nudity would go unnoticed when compared with what was around her.

Three women were all masturbating furiously around her. One had green hair, and was lying on her back on the ground, crying out with every motion of her hand. Another still had something vaguely similar to a police uniform still on, and her hands ran along her still-clothed breasts, and she was moaning, her voice low and reverberating. The last was a woman still wearing tattered gray stockings and heels, using both hands to attack her vagina, undeterred by what seemed to be several orgasms.

And then, Eri felt strong arms grasp her. She turned, and saw only pitiless red eyes, attached to a vaguely horse-shaped head, surrounded by a shawl of black hair. The arms were gray, and each was heavily muscled.

She glanced down as she felt her legs parting. This man... or creature... wore no clothing. His crotch revealed itself and a penis, gray as the skin around it but larger and more fluid than any Eri had ever seen before, plunged in and penetrated her.

Each thrust was a moment of bliss. This thing was attacking her, assaulting her sexually and without her consent... but she couldn't resist. Every movement of his hips drew her closer, and in only a few seconds, she wrapped her arms and legs around her inhuman lover, enraptured.

She was his. And upon her release, she only sought his embrace all the more.

"Excellent," Aleister noted, smiling cruelly. "How many more subjects will he need?"

"Two, after this woman," Ritsuko answered. She was averting her eyes, unwilling to watch. "Dr. Nagamine started his program too early, but he'll be ready on that crucial day."

"We will have only a brief window," Aleister said. "But both of my prophecies shall be fulfilled. The antichrist shall be born, and I will escape the cycle of life and death."

"Is that so?"

Aleister turned his wheel chair away from Zarathustra. Standing in the hallway was a certain dark haired alchemist, noteworthy for the stub of a horn on his forehead and his differently colored eyes.

All three were stunned to see him. Asante stepped forth, hands in his pockets. "I can feel the atoms around your soul. The body has less than thirty-six hours to live. Your soul is so maimed... it's barely intact." He drew closer, paying no heed to Zarathustra and Eri. "If only we'd met under different circumstances... ah, well." He bowed. "A pleasure to meet you... wickedest man in the world."


	12. Completed Rune

**Chapter Twelve: Completed Rune**

Gendo and Ritsuko were quite stunned. The demon possessing half of Gendo's body was somewhere between fear and amusement, his lewd grin vanishing.

Only Aleister Crowley seemed calm, even as he wheezed in his wheelchair. "The alchemist," he observed. "What do you want?"

"To kill you," Asante answered. "And then kill Gendo. And then have sex with Ritsuko."

"Eloquent," Aleister noted. "And what gives you the idea a mere alchemist can stop me?"

"Because I'm not a 'mere alchemist'," Asante answered. "I'm actually vying for that title of yours'; I'd like to be called 'wickedest man in the world.'"

"Heh," Aleister smirked, suppressing a cough. "I'll give you credit for your bravado, but you still have a lot to learn." He extended one withered hand, his ring finger dangling from the broken flesh. "But I have not the patience to teach you the difference between magic and alchemy."

Gendo reacted first, as his sunglasses were torn asunder, and his brown eyes burnt a malicious, bloody red. Asante recognized the expression as Gendo shot at him, and Asante felt the atoms around him, shifting them to counter the surprise attack. Diamond-hard shards of carbon shot out at Gendo like a storm, sending him backwards and pinning him to the wall, clothes and flesh alike pierced rather indiscriminately.

But the deal maker was far from finished. Black flesh and burns replaced Gendo's skin, and he freed himself from the wall and bounded forward again, feet moving along the air as easily as the ground.

Asante smirked and clenched his right hand. Hydrogen atoms in the air burst into flame and Asante wielded it as easily as he would any weapon, moving the atoms and flinging them out like a whip, encircling Gendo and burning his body even more.

Aleister Crowley watched, amused. Ritsuko was stoic, no doubt wondering how best to approach Asante... if she intended to battle him, or perhaps try to reason with him?

Gendo broke free of the bonds and Asante drew back to avoid being slashed, as Gendo's digits extended into powerful claws. Undaunted, Asante concentrated on forging carbon atoms into his fist and delivered a straight right hand to Gendo's cheek, sending him spiraling backwards, past Ritsuko and Aleister and a few inches into the steel wall.

"I just want to point out," Asante noted. "That felt great."

Aleister chuckled, stopping his laugh only long enough to hack and wheeze. "I'll give you the credit you deserve, alchemist, but I don't have time to meddle with lesser intellects. You should feel honored; I will face you personally."

Ritsuko drew back, and Aleister brought his withered hands to either side of his wheelchair, propelling himself forward. Asante grinned and drew atoms from the air around him to each of his fists, preparing a new onslaught of multivalent chemicals.

Aleister Crowley -pushing himself forward a few inches at a time- certainly didn't appear threatening, but Asante didn't have much reservation about attacking the apparent cripple. Aleister smiled and stopped wheeling, extending his right hand with a grin.

"The only law is do what thou wilt," Aleister said.

Asante grasped his head in pain. In mere moments, his forehead was burning, as new gashes and burns formed across his skull. Four new markings appeared instantaneously, and linked together with their predecessors. Asante cried out and fell to his knees, still clutching his skull as the gashes dug their way deeper into him.

"You belong to me now, Hirazuki Asante," Aleister spoke clearly, unimpeded by collapsing lungs. "And I need every last scrap of information you have."

Asante gazed up at Aleister, his vision going strangely dark, as though he were looking at the world through tinted glass. Unbeknownst to him, his red eye and green eye alike had turned completely black, and the rune on his forehead glowed a potent, fiery red.

"Go...to..." Asante began, but Aleister clenched his fist and Asante skidded backwards, slamming against the wall, his body forced back by the tremendous force of Crowley's will.

"I tire of insubordination in my ranks," Aleister noted. "Hm... I can see every little memory of yours', alchemist. You gained your powers from Faust."

Asante suddenly found it very difficult to breathe, and could not manage to move any extremity. He could not feel the atoms in the air around him, and indeed, was losing any method to resist Crowley's search in his mind.

"There it is... the nun knows the identity of the Scarlet Woman," Aleister said with a grin. "Bring her to me."

And Asante Hirazuki suddenly found himself unable to do anything. His body moved, his lungs took in breath, and his powers activated at Aleister's command, as the old, handicapped man did nothing but think and the alchemist did whatever the wickedest man in the world wanted.

And without further resistance, Asante sifted into the wall, back up towards the surface, and towards his target.

Gendo climbed up from the wall, the deal maker's physical features melting away. "I had no idea he was so strong..." A single tooth fell out from Gendo's mouth and landed on the floor. "But it was nothing to you, was it, Crowley-sama?"

Aleister nodded weakly. "Find the last woman you need."

"There's some problem with that, actually," Ritsuko chimed in. "Her name is Ichikawa Aki. She's one of Captain Yuge's subordinates."

Aleister sneered. "And the problem being?"

"Captain Yuge has a strange protectiveness of young women," Gendo answered. "Ichikawa is his subordinate, if not his protégé. He will not let her go easily."

"Yuge is nothing," Aleister assured them. "We will release Zarathustra to find her personally if need be."

"What about the other demon men?" Ritsuko suggested. "Aren't they ready?"

"The divine blood is too unstable... I will wait until my army has no defects before I release it," Aleister stated simply. "For now... Gendo, bring those two to me."

Ichikawa, meanwhile, was being transferred from her hospital following the request of Detective Yamanishi. A man named Oshima had been taken into police custody for attempted rape and assault on the young woman. The detective had regularly claimed that Ichikawa had managed to heal from being stabbed by Oshima, but his claim fell on deaf ears; no one in the department believed him nor had any interest in believing him.

When morning rolled around, he drafted a letter of resignation, and upon storming from the building, his chief handed him a piece of paper with a name and address. The man his chief recommended had been his friend from their academy days, and had apparently heard more than his share of crazy stories in his day.

Saeki knew the sun had risen by now, but made no note of it. While Kitami/Imari was away, she had been amusing herself by torturing Shiraki, watching as her acolytes tore away her clothes and violated every orifice on her body.

It was the only pleasure she could derive now; to harm someone weaker than herself. Though she still treasured her ambition to betray Kitami and regain control over the coven, Saeki knew that no golden opportunity would present itself. Once her mistress had her fun with Hiroko Takashiro, she had taken Saki and vanished. Yuki had disappeared, and Saeki doubted anyone else in the coven would be willing to be loyal to her, or, for that matter, had enough brains to appreciate the subtlety of her scheme.

Now, whenever her followers took a moment to rest, Saeki perused the books she brought down from her office, comparing the scattered text she had of the prophecy, hoping to link it together in some more advantageous way...

And, on a tree-covered hilltop above Takashiro's country cottage, Hirazuki Asante leered down at the building, waiting for a taxi to finally drop off the red-haired nun.

However, he was not alone, as he heard the sound of footsteps and turned, to face what appeared to be Kurumi Imari. She was adorned only in an open red cloak and was being followed by a schoolgirl Asante did not recognize.

"Hirazuki-kun," Kitami/Imari greeted. "Give back what you stole from me."

Asante only eyed her lecherously, the symbols on his forehead burning brighter.

"Very well, then," Kitami/Imari acknowledged. "We'll do this the hard way."

Back, below in Tokken headquarters, when midmorning finally rolled around, what remained of Harada Eri's soul was completely absorbed into the demon man. He discarded her body, turning his attention towards the glass wall.

"Gendo still hasn't returned," Ritsuko observed, concerned. "We can't afford any lulls in the process."

"Is there no one else in the holding cells?" Aleister asked.

"No... we must-"

"Then I am sorry this had to happen, Dr. Akagi."

The next thing Ritsuko knew, the glass had disappeared. She fell forward onto the steel ground, in front of the gray skinned demon man, who growled in approval. Ritsuko staggered back to her feet and retreated, only to hit bulletproof glass once more. She turned to glare at Aleister Crowley, watching idly from his wheelchair.

She felt Zarathustra's enormous hands grasp her shoulders and rip her lab coat away. Her blouse and skirt followed, as Zarathustra began fondling her body, leaving deep gashes in her skin from the force.

Ritsuko clawed at the glass for a few minutes, but gave in as soon as Zarathustra penetrated her. She was forced up against the glass, her face striking it with the demon man's every thrust.

It was not the first time her benefactors had betrayed her trust. She had made a crucial error: the man she had intended to be her protector. She had allowed him to fall into Aleister Crowley's power. She had not genuinely expected Gendo to help her in her time of need... but it was nice to hope that there would be some salvation for her.

It was nice to hope, while she had some soul left to hope with.

Aleister watched from behind the glass, cold and pitiless. It was unfortunate he had to lose such a talented scientist, but once Zarathustra completed his programming, it wouldn't matter. He would have all the time in the world to learn all that Dr. Akagi once knew or cherished...

...the thought gave him some satisfaction. All her hopes and dreams were being exterminated, and supplanted by his'. As was the fate of all the other women in the world... all just waiting to become his subjects.

As his prophecy had outlined, and all his subordinates prepared to fulfill.


	13. Lovers in the Forest

**Chapter Thirteen: Lovers in the Forest**

Gendo dropped down from the ceiling, landing at Aleister's side, as the wheelchair-bound man watched his pet Zarathustra began his second round with Ritsuko.

"Did you find the girl?" Aleister asked, not looking at him.

Gendo brought one gloved hand up to adjust his glasses. "She's in a secure location, but she'll be moved back to the mansion."

Aleister nodded curtly. "And Yuge?"

"Nowhere to be found," Gendo responded. "Probably searching for Asante or Reika Kitami."

"Kitami?" Aleister repeated. "That bitch is involved in this?"

"She wants the power of the Antichrist child as much as anyone," Gendo answered. "But for the moment, at least, she's unaware of your involvement."  
"Very well," Aleister nodded, continuing to observe the spectacle. "It is no matter. The girl will be ready by the time Zarathustra has finished Dr. Akagi."

Gendo only nodded, standing at Aleister's side to watch the spectacle.

"Any pity, Rokubungi?" Aleister asked.

Gendo was affronted. "There is only one woman I feel anything for at all. Dr. Akagi... does not merit my pity."

"Really? You didn't even want a chance to defile her before Zarathustra sapped her soul away?" Aleister asked.

Gendo did not answer. Aleister smirked and resumed watching.

"So, your mind has eroded even further," Kitami/Imari noted. "You are of no value to me in that state."

Asante snarled, as atoms in the air around him began to contort. He was preparing some sort of offensive, and Kitami/Imari moved protectively before Saki. "You will not touch this one, Hirazuki-kun. She belongs to me."

Asante bounded forward, igniting hydrogen items around him. A stream of fire followed his every movement, and he began hardening carbon atoms in his body, creating a diamond-hard sheath around himself as he shot towards Kitami/Imari.

Kitami/Imari sneered. "I wasn't a very good teacher, it seems... I thought you'd have learned." She had but to extend her hand. Asante's carbon sheath melted away and his flames were extinguished. The mark on his forehead was the only thing that allowed him to continue his attack, but his fist came just short of touching his target.

Instead, Asante focused his next best talent, trying to manipulate Kitami/Imari's pheromones, but that went nowhere. The woman's face contorted as she glared at him. "Keep your vile hands away from me." She flung him back, slamming the alchemist hard into the tree, instantaneously following him and wrapping her hand around his neck. "Where is the deal maker? Where is what you stole from me?"

"What you stole from me," Asante reminded her, speaking in a deeper, more malicious voice. "I didn't get the chance to take it back... but for now, I could certainly use both a virgin and a more experienced woman."

Kitami/Imari was disgusted. "You didn't take the deal maker. Who did?"

"Go to Hell." Asante responded rather succinctly.

Kitami/Imari reared back her hand to strike, only to find herself subdued, as her arm was suddenly enclosed by some outside magical force. She broke free from it easily enough, but knew it had to have been a mere diversion...

Two women held Saki on either side. Kitami/Imari glared at them, as Jody Crowley floated down between them, smiling maliciously.

"Jody," Kitami/Imari spat.

"The alchemist is mine to kill," Jody stated flatly. "If you take that away from me, I'll kill your precious virgin."

Kitami/Imari glared. "What makes you think I need the girl?"

Saki's eyes widened in terror, as her blonde-haired captor shot her a lewd grin.

"Because you defended her from the alchemist," Jody pointed out. "You must need her for something, otherwise you would've let him have her."

Kitami/Imari maintained her glare, but eventually nodded. Jody's bodyguards released the girl, and Kitami/Imari grasped Saki's wrist. "Very well, I won't kill him."

Her eyes flashed. The rune burnt into Asante's forehead shattered, fading completely in an instant.

Jody's eyes widened. Kitami/Imari smiled as she made her exit. "But I don't have to help you."

Awakened and free from Aleister's manipulation, Asante refocused his gaze on Jody and her servants. He waved his arm and both bodyguards were blasted away by an accelerated gust of wind, sending them flying off into the distance.

"Well, you found me," Asante pointed out. "What do you want?"

Jody immediately began to draw a new rune, but Asante sank into the ground, before popping back up, striking her chin with his diamond hard fist. Jody rocketed up a few feet, only to be tugged back down and dealt a second blow to the stomach.

"I'll make this concise," Asante told her. "Your dear grandfather is planning on fulfilling his prophecy without your help."

"W-what?" Jody managed, feeling genuine physical pain for the first time in years.

"He sent me to find the identity of the Red Lady, just like you," Asante stated. "Were you even aware he was still alive?"

"I-" Jody began, but spat out some blood. She was astonished this alchemist, a complete novice to magical power, had managed to do her any harm... and this revelation was stunning.

"I'm going back to kill him," Asante told her. "I care not what you do with this Antichrist child you want so badly. I just want to deal with that bastard." Without further ado, he began to make his exit on the long way back to Tokken's underground headquarters.

Jody paused. "Wait," she requested. "You're really not going to try and stop me?"

"I'd welcome a change to this place," Asante told her. "Let the world go to Hell. I've been once; it's overrated."

Jody was stunned once again. How could he be so supremely unconcerned? Was he really so unintelligent, or was he ignorant? Either way, since it seemed she could not make him into her servant. "Then I will repay you your alliance," Jody told him. "I'll help you kill him."

Asante raised an eyebrow. "My. Loving family, aren't you?"

"I have no interest in sharing power with him," Jody said flatly. "Especially since it seems he had no intention of sharing it with me."

Asante thought. "Well... I suppose there is one thing you can help me with. Know anything about Gendo Rokubungi?"

Jody smiled. "I know his weakness."

"Bring him here," Asante requested. "I need the Lance of Longinus."

Gendo received the message. It was a powerful beacon like no other, and he recognized the voice in his head all too well. It couldn't be possible... but he had to know for sure. She was the whole reason he'd entered into this sinister alliance.

Gendo reached his hand down into the ground, to find what he'd buried. The two-pronged, red steel lance floated up into his hand as he sank back into the wall.

"Where are you going, Gendo?" Aleister asked.

Gendo did not answer. If what he was feeling was true, he no longer needed this old man...

"Come back!" Aleister instructed. "We need the Lance!"

Gendo only vanished, the weapon in tow. Aleister let out a scream of fury as his most useful subordinate suddenly vanished...

...and reappeared shortly after that, in the forest overlooking a cabin in the countryside, he stepped forth, emerging from the ground. Half his face was locked in a lewd grin, the other half unable to contain his anticipation.

"Gendo," he heard the voice. At once he turned and saw her, smiling at him.

Her lab coat. Her pink blouse and black skirt. Her pageboy haircut, her brown eyes and her smile. All the disdain and ambition melted away from Gendo at once, and he ran forth to embrace her. "Yui..."

"Gendo," she repeated, stroking his hair. Gendo buried his face in her shoulder, taking in the warm feel of her skin, and the feel of her form. He discarded the Lance of Longinus at once, assuming whatever she needed it for could be resolved later.

Gendo's weight pushed her down, falling upon the grass. The two embraced one another, as Gendo ignored the demon's impulses to just rape her and be done... he took several minutes to disrobe her and to feel around her body, unable to contain his joy.

A circle formed beneath them, but Gendo couldn't care less. He penetrated her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him to her, throwing her head back and releasing a deep moan.

How long had it been? Fifteen years? To Gendo, it had seemed his entire lifetime. Yui was the only woman in the world that mattered to him. At that moment, she was the only thing he cared for at all.

At least until she disappeared, and Gendo fell face down upon the grass. He tried to right himself, only to feel himself stabbed through the back of the chest. He whirled around, and he saw a blonde girl in a clear white dress. "Jody!" he cursed. She slashed him twice more, vertically and horizontally in his lower abdomen and across his forehead, splattering blood upon the sword in her hand, forming the shape of an inverted cross upon the hilt.

Her silver-haired bodyguard emerged from the illusion at last, reclothing herself. Gendo roared a curse and called upon the deal maker's powers, his skin burning black and his eyes turning a deep, bloody red.

Until he felt the Lance of Longinus pierce his back, both prongs digging through him. The divine blood on the spear's edge prevented the deal maker from healing Gendo's wounds. Still, Gendo turned to look behind him, and saw only Asante, eyeing him grimly.

"You..." Gendo muttered. "You would do this to me?"

"Show you what you want most and then take it from you?" Asante asked. "Yeah, that seems appropriate for a two-faced bastard like you."

The deal maker laughed, appreciative. "You... have you no heart at all?" Gendo asked.

"None you could find," Asante assured him. "I have never known love. You have the good fortune to die after embracing the person you loved." He withdrew the Lance, allowing Gendo to fall. "I am nothing if not merciful."

**Ah, I understand now,** the deal maker told Gendo privately. **Not her son after all...**

_What? Whose son?_

**When I first met him, I assumed he might've been the progeny of someone important... his soul was so wholly devoid of love, I thought he might've been the product of one of Crowley's indiscretions. But I can see now that he doesn't recognize your beloved Yui.**

_Why would he have in the first place?_ Gendo felt blood trickling out of his chin. The wound could not heal, and he was losing blood very quickly.

**Do you not remember, the woman you allowed to die in the car crash? The woman who looked enough like Yui Ikari, you could ignore the pale green of her eyes?**

Gendo felt his eyes widened as he locked his reddened gaze with Asante's single green left eye, the same shade he'd seen once before... why hadn't he recognized it? Why hadn't he seen it before?

**Yes, he is your son,** the deal maker mocked. **Another child you abandoned, believing he was nothing of any importance. He does vaguely resemble his mother... the woman who resembled your beloved.**

_I..._

Asante turned away from Gendo, unconcerned. "Rip him apart. Send both their souls back to Hell."

Gendo felt his legs hacked to pieces. His arms. His torso was being ripped apart, and the magical forces felt like sets of powerful jaws, greedily and hungrily dismembering him.

**I do not know if you think anything of it... there is only one person you have ever loved. This boy has improved upon your record. He does not love at all.**

_It's not a fate I would've wanted... for anyone,_ Gendo thought.

**No point in trying to repent now, Rokubungi. You're the one who gave him that fate in the first place.**

And, in his final moment, somewhere between remorse and pain, Gendo looked up as Asante left, towards the stars... and towards her smiling face.

And, perhaps, in that moment, the slightest trace of affection for someone other than Yui Ikari...

"I'll take his bits with me," Asante stated. "I intend to show your grandfather I'm serious."

"Fine," Jody agreed. "We have no use for this body."

"Good luck, Jody Crowley," Asante told her, before sinking into the ground, bringing Gendo's remains and compressing them in his right hand, the Lance of Longinus in his left.

The very instant he was gone, Jody turned to her subordinates. "Follow him. Keep an eye on Kitami." Each went forth to their intended destination, as Jody looked out at the cottage below her.

_So... why was he running here in particular? What would this person know that would compel my grandfather to require the assistance? _

And then she saw the building's occupant. She recognized the red hair.

_Ah... enough, apparently._


	14. A Circle Has No Beginning

**Chapter Fourteen: A Circle Has No Beginning**

_Twenty-seven years earlier..._

Her name was Hirazuki Chiyo. She was a prostitute, revered in her small corner of the Red Light District in Ichigaya for her green eyes and her warm conversational style. To many, she was a modern day _oiran_, for she provided companionship as well as sex.

Gendo had need only for the latter. He used her and he discarded her, and felt defiled... this woman had not been worthy of him either, and she had failed to bring him any sense of lasting relief. He could not honestly care about her drunk of a brother nor how the two siblings were in the process of squandering an enormous inheritance, and he did not care to learn anything more.

She seemed genuinely saddened by this. It was rare for her customers to desert her so, but Gendo could not feel so much as even pity for Hirazuki; she was of no value to him. He left her disgusting hovel and headed back to the university, to prepare the following day's lecture on mythology... he thought perhaps he might stop by the library first, to brush up on his understanding of the Roman reinterpretation of the first Olympic games.

In the library he found a man wearing a heavy black overcoat. This in and of itself was quite unusual... there was normally no one on campus as late as he. It worked in his favor, playing the part of student teacher and quietly rising through the ranks by keeping up the facade of hard work.

The man wasn't anyone he could recognize (though his facial features were obscured by the coat and a bowler hat), so Gendo asked: "What are you doing here?"

The man turned. His face was partially shadowed by the bowler hat, but Gendo could make out some features. His skin was very pale, almost milky white. More disturbing than that were his large, reddish-brown eyes, so large they bulged in their sockets and looked as though they could fall out at any moment.

"You have potential," he said, speaking in English with a powerful, deep voice. "Your heart is as black as mine, Rokubungi."

Gendo understood him well enough, but continued speaking in Japanese instead. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Do not speak until I give you the command," the man muttered irritably, forcing Gendo back against the library wall, pinning him without moving or lifting a finger. "I see some potential in you..."

"Who are you?" Gendo demanded.

The man paused a moment, striking Gendo with some invisible instrument, cutting a deep gash in his stubbled chin. "I told you not to speak," he noted, beginning to speak Japanese and decreasing his pitch and tone, speaking normally. "I can see a use for you, if you are willing to embrace my teachings."

Gendo glared steadily at him, still wanting to know who he was.

"To answer your question, my name is Aleister Crowley," the man stated. "I-"

"Impossible," Gendo spat. "Aleister Crowley is dead."

"I...said...do not speak." Gendo felt new gashes appear in his stomach and chest, and felt blood splatter out. He tried to cry out in pain, but could not find his voice, instead distracted by a new pain as his wounds burnt away, sealing up almost as soon as they appeared. "Do you understand yet?"

Gendo continued to glare at him, his breathing growing harsh.

"I can forgive you that remark," Aleister told him. "To the world at large, yes, I am dead. To you, I think it's rather clear I'm very much alive." He brushed aside part of his overcoat, allowing him to move both arms freely. "I can see the darkness in your heart quite clearly, Gendo Rokubungi. I want to use it to serve my ends."

Gendo was silent, a few drops of blood falling to the library floor.

"I have need of a subordinate, to carry out my will," Aleister told him. "I see you have a weakness for female flesh... I will be happy to reward you with it every time you obey me. I sympathize, if nothing else."

Aleister extended his right hand. It was just as withered and pale as his face. "Open your heart to darkness, and I will give you power like nothing you've ever experienced before. Enter the sacred order of Thelema as my right hand."

He opened his right palm. The library and Aleister Crowley alike vanished, replaced on all sides by darkness.

Embrace what you are, Gendo Rokubungi. My only law... is do what thou wilt.

When Gendo returned to the library, his hand bore Aleister Crowley's sacred marking. He was released from the wall, Crowley still standing before him. Gendo did not hesitate and dropped to kneel before him, lowering his head and staring at the floor.

"Welcome to my order, Rokubungi," Aleister said, smiling warmly. "You shall have all the power and women you could ever need in my service..."

_Fifteen Years Ago_

It had been nothing but fun, serving Aleister Crowley. In exchange for securing his master a new body to transfer his soul to every few years, Gendo was granted the ability to manipulate the emotions and actions of others, turning his talents always to women he desired. He created new subordinates for himself whenever he deemed it necessary, and received a handsome salary as a talent scout for the Tokken Law Enforcement agency, which Aleister himself secretly operated. The women he'd slept with had a strange way of disappearing... dying, or going mad. Chiyo had died in a car crash more than twelve years ago, and all Gendo felt was the joy he'd never have to see her again.

He still enjoyed returning to his old office at the university to coerce young girls to his bed. It satisfied his lust, and he would never need to defile himself with such otherwise useless women again.

He did not love. As far as he was concerned, he did not need to.

His former mentor and now adjutant professor Kozo Fyuutski had taken over Gendo's teaching post since he'd left to work for Tokken. He had no choice but to obey Gendo's insistence of keeping his womanizing secret, but his will was strong enough to make a few disparaging remarks.

Gendo had just dropped by to have tea and speak with his old 'friend' about the semester's course schedule, only to be met by the sound of falling books. Upon entering his own office he found himself staring at a floor of scattered text, and a slim body in a white lab coat.

"Professor Fyuutski?" Gendo asked, confused.

The person turned and smiled. "Oh, sorry... I'm Professor Fyuutski's assistant." She bowed, her short brown locks unable to conceal her neck. "My name is Yui Ikari. I'm an assistant professor here... just transferred to work with Professor Fyuutski."

Upon meeting an attractive woman. Gendo's first instinct was to reach out and manipulate her into his service, but this time, he could not react... he was astonished by her presence.

"Are you all right, sir?" she asked, apparently quite concerned.

Gendo could not speak. All he could do was look upon her and listen to her voice, as lust was supplanted by something Gendo had never felt... affection, and interest...

Professor Fyuutski stepped in, squeezing past Gendo. "Ah, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce you two properly."

Later that day, Aleister called Gendo to his side. Aleister lay in bed, writhing, his body deteriorating rapidly. Gendo had brought with him a new vessel, but had no idea of Aleister's intent.

When he separated his soul from the body, Aleister shot into Gendo to inhabit instead, trying to bond his soul to Gendo's flesh. However...

What... why? Why can't I... what is that in your heart?

Aleister's soul found the separate body Gendo had found for him, ridding away the weak and unworthy soul and personality, completing the process after a few minutes. Gendo, stunned by Aleister's attempt to possess him, was just as stunned when Aleister gained control over his new body's motor functions and flung Gendo into the wall, pinning him.

You failed me... you disgusting waste of space. You allowed weakness to enter your heart and to corrupt you. You failed the only task I had set for you!

Gendo struggled to breathe. Aleister really intended to kill him, it seemed.

I thought you would serve me well. If you had but obeyed me, you would have lived forever, Aleister snarled. What emotion could be so important as to make you this weak? What could you possibly gain from defying me?

And then Aleister saw her face. Heard her voice. Felt the pain deep in the darkness imbued in Gendo's heart.

I told you not to love, Aleister spoke, incandescent with rage. You weren't worthy after all...

And then Gendo found himself alone in the bedroom, sitting at the bedside of a withered old body, now without a soul.

Yet, in his loss, Gendo found deep joy, as his freedom from the commands of Aleister Crowley. He went to Fyuutski, while Gendo's power would still hold sway over him, and rejoined the staff at the university, to begin to get to know Yui better.

_Twelve Years Ago_

The day was at hand. Yui was getting dressed in a lovely white gown Gendo had yet to see, as he paced his hotel room, Fyuutski watching television from one of the beds.

"How can you be so calm?" Gendo asked him.

"Because I'm not the one getting married," Fyuutski replied, smirking. "I assume you remember your lines?"

Gendo sneered at him and prepared a retort when-

Gendo Rokubungi.

The hotel room vanished. He appeared, dressed once more in his black coat and bowler hat.

"You look well," Aleister greeted, standing in a new, only slightly aged body. "Though you don't look too happy to see me."

"What do you want?" Gendo asked.

"To bring your considerable talents back into my employ," Aleister replied. "I need you to rid yourself of this weakness... I have a new project in mind, and I will need you to find the components for it."

"I'm through with you!" Gendo shouted. "Leave me alone!"

Aleister paused. "I am sorry to hear that. I suppose I will have to rid you of your weakness myself..."

Gendo then found himself in another hotel room. He nearly dropped to his knees, astonished by her beauty as he had been every day. In that white gown, she looked more beautiful than ever before, and Gendo hadn't believed it to be possible.

She spotted Gendo in her mirror and turned. He had expected her to scold him, but instead she smiled and called him over, extending her hand to him.

Gendo broke into a run, hoping this was real, hoping that-

-that Aleister Crowley had not just emerged from her mirror and hacked her to pieces with all of his magical force. Even in death, with her wedding gown covered in blood, she was still beautiful.

"Now there are no more problems," Aleister said. "You have nothing more to cling to in this life."

Gendo at first dropped down, hoping there was something he could do... hoping futilely that he could save her, before charging at Aleister, punching him to no effect, hoping that he could leave some lasting mark before Crowley killed him too...

"Do not waste your energy," Aleister instructed. "You have no choice but to work for me now. The only alternative is to be jailed for her murder."

"I'd rather be locked away forever than serve you!" Gendo roared. "You inhuman monster... I loved her!"

"You speak like a child," Aleister told him. "Love... what a waste of a perfectly good word. Well, if she means that much to you..." Aleister stroked his chin. "Very well. That shall be your reward for serving me."

Gendo ceased his assault, locking eyes with Crowley.

"You will obey me for the rest of your life," Aleister told him. "Without question or hesitation. Once I have gained mastery over life and death, I will bring your beloved back to you."

Gendo stared directly at him. "How can I believe that?"

"Because it is your only choice," Aleister responded flatly. "This is my final offer, Rokubungi. If you want dear Yui to live again... all you have to do is exactly what I say."

Gendo looked at Yui's broken, bloodied body. If it meant having her back, marrying her, and spending the rest of his life with her...

_Ten Years Ago, Walpurgis Night_

Gendo looked down at the bloodied remains of Naoko Akagi, previously the scientist Aleister had entrusted his precious 'Zarathustra' project to. He regularly rejected her advances, as he could feel no compassion or affection for her whatsoever. He did not feel even the tiniest drop of pity at her suicide.

He instead turned to Aleister, as blood was siphoned out of his body into the young boy, perpetually asleep. He was as pale as Aleister always appeared to be... his skin seemed even a tinge gray.

Aleister himself knew his body was breaking apart, so he spread what blood he could isolate and remove, giving only what was necessary to impart scattered fragments of his soul into the boy. "What will this mean for the project?" Gendo asked.

"Her subordinate, Dr. Nagamine, will take over," Aleister answered. "From there, I expect Dr. Akagi's daughter will do."

"No point informing her now," Gendo told him. "She has captured a new conscript."

"The second and last," Aleister said. "Conscript 001," he glanced at a design document, "will be out of the country permanently."

"And what assignment is there for me?" Gendo asked.

"Begin the search for the Lance of Longinus," Aleister instructed. "The second version, I should say. Not that useless hunk of wood and iron... the spear the angels discarded."

"Why do you need it?" Gendo asked.

"I need divine blood," Aleister answered simply. "So I will use the blood of God himself."

_Four days ago_

Sitting in his cell, Gendo saw Aleister's projection.

"I have ordered your execution, but I am confident Dr. Akagi will attempt to stay it," Aleister told him. "The new conscript will break you out. I have already arranged transport for your safe return."

"I found the Lance," Gendo reported. "But I'll need to go back to recover a large enough fragment."

"No problem at all," Aleister confirmed. "Both our dreams are about to come true."

And in the present, Aleister Crowley watched in astonishment as bulletproof glass and steel walls shattered. Zarathustra was separated from Ritsuko, and was not pleased.

_The process must not be interrupted!_ Aleister thought. _Who would've?_

He saw a glint of glass as smoke and rubble began to subside. "Gendo!" Aleister roared. "You would betray me now?"

And then the head flew through the air, rolling across the ground to Aleister's wheels.

Asante Hirazuki stepped forth, clutching the Lance of Longinus in his left hand and collecting carbon atoms in his right. "Hey," he greeted. "I'm here to stop and/or kill you."

Ritsuko, with what recollection of herself she had left, looked up and saw him, astonished. The other women Zarathustra had used, previously locked away in the next room, began wandering towards him, driven by the only instinct they had left: the desire for his touch.

Aleister had no time to waste. He had to resume the process... "Very well, Hirazuki. You forced my hand..."

A circle appeared around him, as Aleister concentrated, lifting his withered body from the constraining wheel chair, allowing power to flow directly through him.

"This will end here and now," Aleister Crowley told him flatly. "This moment belongs to me!"

"Yadda yadda kill you, yadda yadda impudent child yadda yadda JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Asante roared back at him. "Let's get started."


	15. For All and None

**Chapter Fifteen: For All and None**

Zarathustra, separated from the woman he'd been drawing the soul from, was infuriated. Clamoring to his feet, still nude, shot forth at Asante. Asante glared at him, before bombarding the gray skinned 'demon man' with flames, sending Zarathustra spiraling backwards.

"I have no quarrel with you," Asante stated flatly. "So sit down and shut up."

Crowley scoffed. "Impudent fool," he extended his hand. "Can this really be the limit of your understanding?" The circle around him burned a deep, dark red, as runes appeared around his energy barrier, bathing the wickedest man in the world with a red glow. "I cannot allow anything to interrupt my procedure."

"Yeah, I thought I told you to shut up, too," Asante muttered. He began flicking Hydrogen atoms at Aleister, blasting the barrier with flames.

"Your ability means nothing here," Aleister told him flatly. "Alchemy cannot defeat magic!"

"Yeah, I've heard that," Asante nodded. "Except you've only got so many spells in your spell book. I have every element in the world at my command."

"I suppose it is fortunate, then," Aleister waved his withered hand, " That I know your weakness."

Asante was flung back by a sudden explosion of invisible, magical force. He managed to stay on his feet and merely skidded back along the ground, past Zarathustra and Ritsuko, back towards the other women, still lying on the floor where they'd been discarded.

They crawled up to him, wrapping their arms around his legs. Eri Harada and Mika Itoh pressed their nude forms against his abdomen, their breasts brushing against each of his hands. Yukiko knelt before him, feeling around his legs and crotch, reaching up.

Asante couldn't help but be aroused, reaching down and grinning lecherously at them. _Whoa, hold it. This is SO not the time to mess around with any of these women-_

These are not women anymore, Aleister Crowley told him. They are soulless objects, just waiting, existing solely for your desire...

Yukiko had successfully managed to remove his pants. Eri and Mika dropped down, and the three began attacking his crotch, and he felt himself growing ever increasingly provoked.

There is no need for conflict, alchemist, Aleister told him. Why should you want to kill me? I have given you wealth, a career, and now, I will give you all the women you could ever need, all existing for no other purpose but to curb your desire.

Asante felt his resistance breaking. Sure, it was clear to him Aleister Crowley was an evil man, with ambitions that definitely offset some of Asante's own, but he didn't really mind being a subordinate... especially with these three women rubbing all over him.

Gendo did not live to see his wish fulfilled, but he could vouch that I was merciful, Aleister said. I reward my followers. Empty your heart of all emotion, and concentrate solely on your ambitions and your desire... embrace me, and I shall let you live forever.

Asante glanced over each in turn. Mika Itoh, whom he'd taken on the school roof and who'd aged remarkably well. Yukiko Minase, whom he'd raped in her home, and come to abuse a few times more before he graduated. Eri Harada, his recent prize, the one whose virginity he'd taken.

**You at least have the excuse of being young and foolish.**

Who had said that? Faust?

Give yourself to me, and I will give you everything you want. Money, power, women, and immortality. All that you crave will be yours', if you will but just turn your talents upon those you hate.

Images of Reika Kitami and her new coven flashed in his head. Asante snarled at the thought, of the woman who took the deal maker from him.

**I will slake your lust and satisfy your greed, and those are only a few of the things I can do to make your life better. What have you to lose?**

The deal maker. He'd had this exact same offer before, and he'd lost himself, becoming permanently scarred by the monster who he shared his soul with. He'd been taken over more than once, and his desires were never truly satiated... just curbed, and always temporarily.

You have but to accept...

And then, before she had informed him of the Scarlet Woman and the antichrist child, Takashiro-sensei said:

**It isn't too late, even for one such as you.**

Asante looked up from the three women attacking below his waist. The gray-skinned demon man Zarathustra reared back to actually attack him, aiming a strong arm for Asante's neck.

Instead, he struck the weaker, female body that leapt in his path, as Ritsuko was thrown backwards, into Asante. He fell back, relatively unharmed, as blood splattered from her throat.

What? Zarathustra, no!

Asante snapped out of whatever trance Aleister had placed him within, as the three 'women' let out groans of disappointment. Asante glanced down at Ritsuko, smiling even as she bled.

"Why?" Asante asked her.

"Returning a favor," Ritsuko managed. "I wanted... to do something nice for you. While I still had some of my soul left."

Asante tried to say more, but failed: she ceased to move, lying immobile, blood still dribbling out, and her flesh still warm.

Zarathustra gave a deep cry of frustration, but was not distracted for long. He moved to attack Asante again, aiming a strong fist for his unguarded back.

Do not waste the effort, Zarathustra. We have no need for additional souls now. Return to my side.

The demon man did not comply. He struck, and Asante felt the fist rip into a considerable portion of his backbone and spine. Had it not been for his instinctive regeneration, Asante would've been paralyzed.

He felt no pain. He did not feel even anger, for this thing that killed Ritsuko Akagi.

Asante drove the Lance of Longinus into Zarathustra's side. The demon man howled as Asante cut an even deeper gash, and brought the gray skinned creature to the ground, writhing in pain, and struggling to cope with a wound that would not heal.

Asante climbed up, his body regenerating still. He glanced down at Zarathustra, and even in his blood red eye, burnt into him by a demon from Hell itself, he pitied the monstrosity.

You bastard, Aleister said, his 'voice' torn by rage. Have you any concept of what you've done?!

Various streams of energy removed themselves from Zarathustra, and from Zarathustra they went to Asante, imbedding themselves upon and within him, flowing into his body and passing through all his systems.

I will not be denied! Aleister crossed both withered hands, but was distracted, as the four women Zarathustra had corrupted pawed at the sides of his barrier, trying to reach him. Disgusting whores! You have failed to serve any meaningful purpose! Begone!

But Aleister was wrong. Something was happening to Asante, as new memories mingled with the conflicts already raging in his mind. Itoh, corrupted by her sensei, Kitami, after taking advantage of the girl's curiosity and naiveté. Yukiko, assaulted by her brother, and secretly cherishing it, for it was the first time a man had shown interest in the body she was so willing to show off. Eri, being raped by a man with a rune in his forehead, and her desire for Asante to save her from this assault, and to take her instead. Some woman he didn't recognize, inducted into Tokken by Toruda Yuge, and determined to prove herself.

And Ritsuko, visions of her fragmented and hazy, but clear enough... a desire for Gendo Rokubungi, albeit one that offered neither satisfaction. Gendo loved only one woman, and Ritsuko was a proxy, as had been her mother before her.

She entered into a pact to destroy Aleister, and Gendo revealed to her his weakness.

I have no choice, then. I will take you as my host to initiate that blessed moment! Aleister cried, no longer speaking with his body's mouth. And you will die, cold, worthless, alone, and unknown! I will exist in your place, and destroy everything you desire!

Gendo had survived being possessed because Aleister's soul was torn apart by emotion. By love.

That was why he wanted to possess Zarathustra. That was why he now expected he could possess Asante, who had never been loved by anyone, and never sought reason to love... never had anyone to live for besides himself.

Yet now he had five additional souls within him, and a new sense of anger and pity for the wickedest man in the world. In his desperation to live forever, he had forsaken something that could've made him genuinely happy, even in a mortal life.

Aleister's skeleton broke away from the withered flesh, and within the circle, Asante saw it; a single wisp of energy, bathed in red. Aleister Crowley's soul, broken and contorted, reaching out to exit his barrier.

And Asante, charging all kinds of atoms into his left hand, flung forth the Lange of Longinus with all his might. It blasted through the air and shattered Aleister Crowley's barrier, as though it were nothing but air.

Aleister Crowley's final word was a scream of terror and surprise, as the spear struck his soul and bound it once more to the skeletal remnants of his host body. He rocketed up, through the steel and through the Earth, skyrocketing up through the ground and into the sky, out above Japan and towards the moon.

Asante felt the atoms breaking away as they propelled the spear forward. He could feel them breaking away from Aleister's body as he writhed, his very soul pierced... and then went cold as it made flew towards the full moon, before stopping to drift.

Aleister's feeble soul was extinguished. His body drifted there towards the moon, as the spear fell away, burning up in the atmosphere in its return to Earth.

It had been a death more spectacular than most to be sure, but it was still death, the thing Crowley feared and sought so desperately to avoid. He had died cold, and alone, and unknown...

Asante turned to the women and the fallen body of Zarathustra, and brought all with him, towards the surface. He would bury the two dead, and if he could, restore the souls to the bodies of the living.

Jody's silver-haired bodyguard watched from afar as Asante began the long trip back towards Takashiro's country home, and made the trip herself ahead of him to report to her mistress.

"He's killed Aleister Crowley," she stated. "He's on his way here."

"To engage us?" Jody asked.

"Not from what I can gather," she replied. "He has lost the Lance of Longinus. I believe he's just trying to find some way to dispose of the bodies, or possibly purify them..."

"I see," Jody nodded. "Very well; I'll keep an eye on him. Go join your partner and keep an eye on Kitami."

She nodded and was gone.

Asante arrived at Takashiro's home shortly after, the six others in tow. He wasn't particularly surprised to find Captain Yuge there, who seemed confused at the four women, all pawing at his body.

"We have a few things to discuss," Asante said. "But I believe my part in this is over."

-


	16. For One Such As You

**Chapter Sixteen: For One Such As You…**

Takashiro examined the four women, and confirmed for Asante she would be able to restore their souls. Asante sat at the center of a purified circle, and couldn't deny how unpleasant it was for him... it was as though being perpetually bathed in boiling water, though he noticed no signs of actual physical damage, so he assumed that was just whatever demonic influence that remained bonded to him burning.

He saw four streams lift away from his body and flow outwards, as Takashiro stated her incantation. He felt alleviated, as the additional personalities left his body and flowed towards the four otherwise empty shells.

Yuge had stood back to observe the ordeal, respecting Asante's request and waiting for further explanation. The process had only taken a few minutes, so the Captain had no trouble waiting.

"Well, glad that's dealt with," Asante noted, as Eri, Yukiko, Mika, and the Tokken agent all took a few moments to be disoriented and get used to their bodies again (before modestly attempting to cover themselves). "What about Ritsuko-san?"

Takashiro shook her head. "Her body has sustained too much damage."

"But her soul wasn't in her body," Asante protested. "Can't you-?"

"At least some soul was left when she died," Takashiro stated. "Whatever you created with this would not be the woman you know. It would always feel incomplete, with part of the soul still bound to mortality and the other part already freed."

Asante took a moment to ponder. "Can you draw her from my body so we can contact her? We can ask her what she wants."

"I'll try," Takashiro confirmed, and Asante stepped back into the purified circle, once again subjected to an intense, burning sensation. He attempted to relax and calm his mind, so Takashiro could reach within him and draw out one more soul.

And sure enough, she appeared, clothed in her lab coat and skirt and blouse and stockings, easily distinguishable by the beauty mark, like a tear below her left eye.

"Ritsuko-san," Asante breathed. "Do you know what we're up to?"

She nodded, the movement so difficult to discern Asante only saw the flicker of a single atom.

"What do you want us to do? Takashiro-sensei could send you to the afterlife if you want..."

Again, only the faintest nod.

Asante gave Takashiro an affirmative and stepped back out from the circle...

"Asante-kun."

He turned, focusing his single green eye on Ritsuko.

"I'm sorry," she told him, her voice echoing. "Sorry for lying. Sorry for manipulating. Sorry for everything I made you go through."

"The roll in the hay was worth it," Asante responded. "I will miss you, Ritsuko-san."

"Do you hate me?" Ritsuko asked.

"For what possible reason?" Asante asked right back.

"I...I just want to know," Ritsuko said. "Before I leave. Can you forgive what I've done?"

"You should ask yourself that," Asante stated simply, turning away. "I'm not the one who will judge you."

And Ritsuko nodded. Asante walked away, and Takashiro began the process, as Ritsuko Akagi's soul drifted upwards in small wisps, until it evaporated, leaving the realm of the living and rejoining what it had lost, complete again in an entirely different place.

Asante did not observe the process, and turned his attention instead to Captain Yuge, bringing him up to speed.

"...there are no more administrators. Only a few agents remain, and I doubt any of them are above your rank. I believe you are currently in charge of the entire organization, Captain."

Yuge looked uncomfortable. "We can sort out the chain of command later, Lieutenant. For now, there is the matter of Imari and Jody."

"I can help with neither," Asante stated simply.

Yuge was displeased. "I understand you've just gone through an ordeal, but you're the only official conscript left in the country that can-"

"I made a deal with Jody," Asante said. "In exchange for her assistance in defeating her grandfather, I would no longer interfere in her battle with you or the coven."

Yuge seemed ready to yell, but Takashiro reached in to stay his hand. "We understand, Hirazuki-kun. Are you sure she'll keep her end of whatever bargain you made?"

"No, but I don't know enough of value for her to bother coming after me," Asante pointed out. "I don't know the identity of the Scarlet Woman, and I put the Lance of Longinus beyond her reach."

Yuge gave a gruff nod. "Very well. Return to your home and await instructions. Under no circumstances should you engage anyone else involved in this operation."

"I'll do my best," Asante said with a smirk. "But before I go home, I'm going to bury these two," he indicated the bodies of Zarathustra and Ritsuko. "I assume you have no objection?"

Neither Yuge nor Takashiro thought of one. Asante turned to the four women and asked them to accompany him so he might return them to their homes, and left, silently carrying the dead with him.

Takashiro watched him go, intrigued. _You learned something, Hirazuki-kun... _

Above her, Jody watched. She had not moved from her spot amongst the trees, and had no doubt Asante knew she was there. He had apparently not bothered to inform Takashiro or Captain Yuge of this, and it didn't seem like he was going to run up and try and battle her.

So, he was a man of his word. Jody would bear that in mind, if ever she needed his assistance again... honest people were all too easy to manipulate.

At each house, Asante had been invited in for tea. None of the women seemed particularly fond of him, but they were all grateful for his help, and he had no doubt that at least three of them would have offered their bodies as a reward. No matter how he'd helped them, he'd been unable to heal their souls of prior corruption.

Normally, he'd take advantage of that and amuse himself, but tonight, at least, Asante had no interest. He took the two bodies and buried them instantaneously above the ruins of Tokken headquarters. He cobbled stones together to create markers, and he sliced into them, writing out three names: Ritsuko Akagi, Gendo Rokubungi, and Zarathustra. He did not see reason to bother to mention Crowley; it would've only made him happy to have anyone acknowledge him, and inflate his already enormous ego and sense of superiority.

Asante returned to his apartment to bathe and change. While shaving (a simple process for him to just slice at the whiskers), he glanced down into his sink to siphon away his blood, and then looked up, to see the deal maker looking back at him.

He was surprised, but not terribly frightened. "What do you want?"

**Do you really think you can change? Do you really see any point to denying what you are?**

"What I am?" Asante repeated.

**I can detect your doubts, your sadness,** the deal maker told him. **Even after the few days I lived inside you, I left the imprint of my soul... even though I hold no sway over your actions, I still exist within you.**

"I sent you to Hell," Asante pointed out.

**Oh, yes,** the demon confirmed. **But I tear souls to pieces all the time. I ripped out a little piece of my own every time I possessed a human, and would remain bound to them all through their life. You may have defeated me, but I will haunt your every waking moment forever.**

"Do you have a point?" Asante asked.

**Only that you will never change,** the deal maker responded. **This is your true face. No matter what doubts may have been instilled in you, and no matter what foolish notions you've developed, the truth is still the truth. You are a demon now, and you will never be anything but evil.** His smile widened. **Embrace it... you'll curb your lust and satisfy your greed. In Hell is all manner of delight, waiting for you.**

Asante turned from the mirror and clothed himself. When he glanced back, he saw his heterochromic eyes and the scars on his face, without the shawl and eye markings of the beast he'd allowed to possess him.

A though crossed Asante's mind as he headed out of his apartment. _Yes, it may be too late for me... but there might be someone else._

Saeki climbed up from the tunnel to the underground chamber and out of her office, still breathing heavily. Yamanishi's possession had drained a tremendous amount of energy from her, and proven very costly. Saki had sacrificed her virginity to Yamanishi, and Yuki had been proven to be a traitor, now imprisoned by Kitami/Imari. She had lost her two key allies, and her hopes of overthrowing the coven had been obliterated in a fell swoop.

And Asante Hirazuki was sitting in her office, drinking a cup of tea. "Saeki-chan," he greeted. "Can we talk?"

"Go away," Saeki snarled. "You are of-"

"I will not leave until you hear me," Asante responded. "So, if you'll allow me to speak and resist the urge to interrupt, this won't take very long."

Saeki jerked her hand at him irritably.

"Stop what you're doing," Asante told her. "Abandon all your ambitions for power and knowledge."

"What are you-?"

"I have seen what you'll become," Asante said. "You will die cold, alone, and unknown... you will never see your dreams come to fruition, and instead lose everything you truly value, if you even manage to have any hope left."

Saeki paused to consider his words. She clearly didn't believe him, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"You wanted glory, fair enough," Asante told her. "But you have always been intelligent, and always been able to accomplish your goals, weighing risk and sacrifice. You have friends and family, and they care for you.

"Yet, I see neither Maki or Jun at your side," Asante told her. "And I expect you couldn't care less where either of them are."

"What is your point?" Saeki snarled.

"My point is that you are loved, and you are ignoring it," Asante said. "You sacrificed the things that humanized you, because you believed they held you back. You have done damage, but it can be repaired."

Saeki continued to glare at him.

"I made the same mistakes you did, and I never learned from them until this very moment," Asante said. "You're smarter than I am; I know you can overcome it."

Saeki turned and headed out of her office, sliding the door open to the outside.

"I apologize for what I did to you, Saeki-chan," Asante said. "I really do... but I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm just asking you to save yourself before it's too late."

Saeki was gone. She had no interest in hearing him anymore. Asante sighed and set down his tea, heading away from his old university and out into the street.

"Very noble," came a female voice Asante did not recognize, and he turned, spotting a female figure dressed entirely in a black bodysuit, her face completely obscured but for her dark hair, falling just past her chin.

"Who are you?" Asante asked.

"I was pretending to be a Tokken agent for a while," she answered. "Keeping Captain Yuge away from Gendo and from Aleister Crowley. I didn't want Gendo to die, but... I knew I'd have a way to bring him back."

"Bring him back?" Asante repeated.

The woman pulled away her face mask, revealing her pale skin and her dark brown eyes. "You escaped from Hell once before, Asante Hirazuki. That's what Dr. Akagi discerned." She stepped forward, dropping to both knees and lowering her head. "Bring Gendo back for me, and I'll help you in any way you ask."

"It's not as simple as- wait, who are you?" Asante asked.

She looked up at him, still on her knees. "My name is Yui Ikari."


	17. Alliance and Pledge

**Chapter Seventeen: Alliance and Pledge**

"Yui Ikari, is it?" Asante asked. "The woman Gendo loved? The woman Aleister Crowley killed?"

"I had not met Aleister Crowley until a few days ago," Yui answered. "Gendo vanished on our wedding day, and I had no idea why. When I'd heard he'd been arrested in a Russian prison, I asked whatever law enforcement I could find about it... it seems only Tokken knew anything."

"And how, exactly, did you get such a sensitive position so quickly?" Asante asked. "Don't lie to me; I can read your every atom for the slightest change."

It also gave him an excuse to look at her body in her black bodysuit; she was undeniably attractive, even approaching 40 years, according to her carbon atoms. She had an unusually soothing voice, so he could understand why Gendo would obsess over her.

"Dr. Nagamine," Yui answered. "She asked me to kill her."

"Beg pardon?" Asante asked.

"Dr. Nagamine's soul was being drained away by the creature called Zarathustra," Yui answered. "She loved him so deeply, she didn't want him to complete his programming. Before she died, she told me all about Dr. Akagi, and how she'd made some sort of alliance with you and Gendo.

"It was the first I'd heard of Gendo," Yui said. "I didn't want to kill anyone, but... I don't know if you'd understand. Have you ever loved someone so much, you are prepared to do literally anything for them?"

"No, but I knew a guy like that," Asante answered, looking a little uncomfortable. "So you killed Dr. Nagamine and set up this whole Zarathustra project for Ritsuko-san."

"I wasn't able to do what she wanted," Yui explained, downcast. "I couldn't stop Aleister Crowley, and I couldn't reveal myself, or he'd have probably killed Gendo..."

"Oh? Not afraid of your own death?" Asante asked, amused.

"No," Yui answered defiantly. "But I can't deny I was scared of Crowley... but, there's no hope for him now. You destroyed him. You made it possible for me to bring Gendo back."

"Bring him back?" Asante repeated. "How?"

"You traveled to the afterlife before," Yui said. "In their plans to create 'demon-men', Tokken left behind the information on how they'd obtained demonic blood in the first place." She grinned. "They know of a location in this city that leads to Hell."

"The Gate of Orcus," Asante realized. "Beneath the school."

"Yes," Yui confirmed. "And I know how to open it. It's just... I don't know how to get back. That's why I wanted to locate you."

"I see," Asante nodded. "So you intend to form some kind of alliance, drag me down to Hell with you, rescue your beloved Gendo's soul, and then escape from there?"

"Yes."

"Heh, sounds fun," Asante grinned. "But what reward can you offer me, Yui Ikari?"

"Reward?" Yui repeated. "What do you want."

Asante's eyes washed over her body. She was so tempting to him...

And then Takashiro's voice nagged him. **It isn't too late, even for one such as you.**

"There is another soul in Hell I'd like to free while I'm there," Asante answered. "Are you by any chance familiar with the legend of Faust?"

"According to Dr. Akagi's files, he's the one you gained your powers from," Yui nodded. "So you want us to get him out, too?"

"I think that'll be sufficient," Asante confirmed, fighting off his very irritated lustful side. "We can begin once this big conflict is over."

"Conflict?" Yui repeated.

"Jody and Kitami are fighting for control of an Antichrist child, or some such thing," Asante said. "We'll go after the Gate once they're finished."

Yui seemed confused. "Why would we wait? Wouldn't it make more sense to get this done before-"

"I made a promise," Asante told her. "I will not interfere. If you want to employ my services, then you will wait."

"I... alright, if you insist," Yui nodded. "Can I stay with you?"

Asante's mind was alight with imagery, as he pondered the prospect of having an attractive woman in his home once again. Aloud, however, he gave a gruff nod and said: "I'll sleep on the couch."

Night fell, and Asante lay awake, Yui Ikari sleeping peacefully in his bedroom, far away. It wasn't the first time he'd remained awake through the night, and he usually cured his insomnia with the cries of young women, but tonight...

...he had gained some restraint. He had, perhaps, gained the tiniest shred of redemption, as Takashiro-sensei wanted.

But then again, in Hell, the deal maker was waiting. He had escaped once, and had a feeling it'd be harder to do so a second time, especially when he was going to extract two others. His alchemic abilities would be limited only to his own body, as none of the atoms in Hell were made of material he recognized.

He smirked and crushed a few atoms around him, drawing in others, to see how his body would hold with so much additional energy within him. It was painful, and he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to maintain the charge for very long.

But he had time until his sojourn into darkness. He could learn to control it.

And, he hoped, manage not to defile this beautiful woman he'd agreed to ally with. Each night would be more difficult, and his lust still raged just below his calm surface.

But she was in love. So deeply in love that she was prepared to sacrifice, to perform whatever act was necessary. Not unlike Saeki, but with a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Asante could use that at any moment. Again he was torn by indecision. Would he use that to satisfy his lust, or rely on that to somehow survive an impossible foray into Hell itself?

His hand twitched, as his maddening desire crept over, gaining control of his mind.

An entirely different voice told him. **Be the demon you are.**

He stood up, walking towards his bedroom. It would take only a few moments to alter her pheromones as he wished, to make her his', and to satisfy himself... and to sleep...

...and then Asante walked away from the door, went to prepare some tea, and to look out the window of his apartment, out at the school.

No doubt Takashiro-sensei would be proud of him for resisting. For allowing himself the humanity he'd once been all too willing to sacrifice.

And, with Earl Grey in hand, Asante waited for the night to pass, and hoping that some day he could escape from the lust that had dominated his mind more than a decade, and finally, maybe be done with all his evil practices...

...or he could just go back and rape her, and enter the cycle again.

Only time would tell.


End file.
